Evil Eye
by xxHollowedNightmares
Summary: Just when everyone thought it was safe, the apprentices of the worst serial killer make themselves known and it is up to Cloud to figure out who they are and stop them before it is too late. AU
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello readers! For those of you who are familiar with my work, this story has dark themes that are almost as dark as **_**Eternal Love**_**. This is much saner, but I'll let you be the judge of that when this story is finished. :) Also, this story is AU and takes place during modern times.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII.**

**Warning(s): Graphic violence, language, etc. If this offends any of you, then I wouldn't read this story since the graphicness will get worse…**

* * *

"Cloud…are you alright?"

It was a cold morning in the city due to the change of season. Cloud looked at the people he swore to protect as they walked by the window of the coffee house. He sipped his coffee before answering.

"Of course Commissioner. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, ever since _he_ left the force, you've been on the quiet side. Hell, you were even quiet when you were at your promotion party yesterday. I thought that you would be excited to become a deputy of our police force at the age of 29."

"I am Lazard…"

"You sure have a funny way of showing your excitement… Your silence, it has nothing to do with-"

"I'm positive it has nothing to do with…_him_. Why would it?"

"Because he was your old partner and you looked up to him."

"He also was the serial killer that we were looking for."

"And you were the one that caught him and put an end to his reign of terror 8 years ago when you were a detective. You were quite lucky to make it out alive and are a hero."

"I'm not a hero…"

Lazard raised a brow at Cloud before taking a sip of his coffee.

"Oh? Then what do you call yourself Strife?"

"I don't call myself anything…I don't even call myself lucky. He let me live with knowing that I didn't have the strength to pull the trigger on him when I should have. I'm the reason why he's still alive and in prison with maximum security…"

"You act like he can escape!"

"It doesn't matter if he can escape or not! His apprentice is still out there somewhere just waiting for him to give the signal and we have no clue who the apprentice is or where he is!"

"What? What do you mean he has an apprentice? Where did you hear that?"

"He told me himself before you came in and arrested him…"

"What the hell Cloud! Why didn't you say that in your report! We could've had spies out and about by now!"

"That's why I didn't put it in the report… If the apprentice is anything like Evil Eye, you won't find him until he wants you to…"

"With that said, why did Se-"

"Evil Eye."

Lazard sighed.

"Why did Evil Eye want to be found?"

"It's simple really…"

Cloud took a sip of his coffee.

"He wanted to take a break…after all, his work is done. All he wants now is to let his apprentice have his fair share."

Lazard scoffed.

"His fair share of what exactly?"

"Of knowing that the police force is nothing but puppets under his control…"

Cloud watched Lazard shake his head before taking another sip of his coffee.

"I don't understand how you know so much about him and how he thinks…"

"He was my partner…I was bound to understand the way he thinks and know so much about him."

"Then tell me, why did he, a detective of such excellence, become a serial killer…the worst one of our century?"

"That…I can never explain and I don't want to even want to try to explain… It may just drive _me_ to become insane…"

"As much as I want to force you to say why, I don't want you reverting back into that state you were in after _he_ was sentenced to life in prison."

"I didn't come here for you to antagonize me!"

"Neither did I... Look, all I wanted to do was lighten you up some so that you can see that you don't have to live in fear everyday. It's safe for you to be happy and experience life away from the desk and paperwork."

"_Nothing_ is safe…"

Cloud went back to looking outside of the coffee house window. To say it was safe now would be when all hell breaks loose. It pissed him off when Zack said the same thing to him a few months after _he_ was locked up. They don't understand…he knew that the apprentice was waiting for everyone to feel safe again to make his move. It was common knowledge…

"Well, all in all Cloud. I still believe that you're a hero, whether you say so or not."

Cloud snorted. He _hated_ when everyone called a hero for catching him. He didn't catch him…all he did was sat on the floor and cried as he pleaded to _him_ not to kill him. He remembered how his old partner slowly turned his head in his direction and grinned as he pulled the knife out of the chairman of ShinRa Electric Company Committee's eye…he remembered how much blood poured out of the eye as his old partner slowly made his way towards him as he licked the knife clean with a smirk on his face…

"Cloud!"

Cloud shook the vision out of his head to realize that he dropped his cup of coffee on the floor.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

Cloud sighed as he saw how concerned Lazard was.

"No…I'm not sure…I'm _never _sure…" Cloud said as he grabbed some napkins and got out of his chair to clean up the coffee. When he heard the sound of glass breaking and everyone screaming he looked up and saw everyone running out of the coffee shop in horror.

"Lazard, what's-"

Cloud stopped speaking when he saw blood dripping on the floor from where Lazard was sitting. Cloud felt his heartbeat quicken as he got up off of the floor and stared at his boss in horror as the same fear from when he discovered his partner's terrifying secret. Lazard was limp in his chair…his right eye staring back at him and the left eye crimson red as blood ran from the eye down his face, giving Cloud the image of Lazard crying tears of blood.

_No... No, no, no, no! He's locked up! He can't…he can't…_

"Just when you felt safe…"

Cloud collapsed onto the floor and did the same thing after they took his smirking old partner away in handcuffs. He screamed.

* * *

He lifted his gun to blow away the smoke that came out of it with a smile on his face. He heard his cell phone vibrate and reached into his pocket to answer it.

"Did you contact-"

"_Yes I did. Our targets are eliminated. And yours?"_

He smirked.

"My target's crying blood…"

The voice on the other side laughed.

"_Our targets are as well."_

He heard the sirens of the ambulance and the police getting closer.

"_You hear that?"_

"Sure do…it's the sound of our first mission being completed. Master will be pleased when he reads tomorrow's newspaper."

"_That's good to hear. Meet us at his hideout in fifteen and watch out for the cops."_

"Of course. Don't want to end up in the same situation as Master now, do we?"

"_No, we wouldn't want that…Master will become displeased with us. It would throw off his entire plan."_

"Speaking of, did he ever tell you what it was?"

"_I thought you would've known since you're his point of contact."_

"He only tells me what he wants done and at what time!"

"_Calm down. Your temper will make you reckless and your recklessness will end up pissing off Master."_

"And we don't want to piss off Master."

"_It wouldn't be in our best interest to do so. Don't be late."_

He hung up the phone before he removed the bipod and strapped his sniper rifle to his back before putting on his long black leather coat. The walked to the other edge of the roof to where the emergency ladder was and climbed down. He exited the alley way and stood with the crowd of people that gathered on his side of the street and watched as the paramedics brought a body out of the coffee shop on the other side of the street.

"Excuse me ma'am, but what happened over there?" he asked the lady standing next to him who had tears coming out of her eyes.

"The Commissioner got killed! Someone shot him through his eye! And…and I heard people saying that the serial killer from 8 years ago did it!"

"What! That can't be! Evil Eye was locked up the last I heard! This is bad!" He said, faking his astonishment.

"It sure is young man… If I were you, I'd run home to your parents and fast! No one's safe in this city anymore! Not if he escaped from prison!"

"I was on my way home right now. I'll let them know what happened. Thanks for the information by the way!" he said as he pushed his way through the crowd of people and walked down the street. Once he turned the corner, he began to laugh. The lady was right. No one was safe in the city anymore, especially since Evil Eye's apprentices were about to have their fair share…

_**To Be Continued…**_

* * *

**A/N: Don't know who Evil Eye and his assistants are yet? You'll find out soon enough…**

**R&R**

**-**_**KTK**_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews, alerts, and favorites! Also to answer some of your questions, yes this fic will have both yaoi and het pairings in it and I will reveal Cloud's past with his old partner in this chap and in the future chapters. I don't know how many chapters this fic will have as of yet, but I'm guessing that it will be around the same number for my other chapter fic **_**Club Rev**_** as a rough estimate.**

**Disclaimer: In 1****st**** Chap.**

**Warning(s): The same as those in the 1****st**** Chap…**

* * *

_**Cloud stared in horror at the sight that lay before him. He had arrived too late to save the chairman…**_

"_**Don't move! Put your hands where I can see them!" He yelled at the serial killer that he and his partner have been hunting down for over six months. He couldn't see what the man's face looked like because he was facing away from where the moonlight from the windows couldn't reach him. The serial killer didn't budge and only threw his head back and laughed, letting Cloud get a side view glance of who it was. Cloud gasped in shock. Silver hair and a green eye…**_

"_**No…" Cloud felt his legs give out as he hit the wall and slid down to a sitting position. Cloud felt tears run down his face as his partner slowly turn his head in his direction and grinned before he pulled the knife out of the chairman's left eye. Blood ran in thick rivers down the dead man's face and onto the floor and Cloud felt as though he was going to be sick.**_

"_**Please…please…don't….please…" Cloud began to beg as he watched his partner turned to face him and slowly made his way towards him.**_

"_**Please! Don't…you can't…you can't…please…" He begged even harder as his partner smirked and licked the knife clean and wiped the blade with the handkerchief that was in his pocket as he continued to make his way towards him. Cloud couldn't even see his partner because his tears had blurred his vision.**_

"_**Good to see you, Cloud."**_

_**He began to cry even harder when he realized that his partner was less than a foot away from him.**_

"_**Please, don't…hurt…don't hurt me…"**_

"_**Now, why would I do that? What good would hurting you do? I need you to remain alive."**_

"_**W-why?"**_

"_**Why what? Why keep you alive or why am I doing this?"**_

"_**B-both…"**_

"_**Well, for the first question, I need someone alive to tell the story of what took place here and as for the other one, you know why. You just don't want to admit it to yourself because you're in love with a married man that just so happens to be your partner and the greatest murderer of the century. It's such a shame that you don't have the strength to pull the trigger of the gun that lies in your hands…" His partner cruelly laughed at him before kneeling down to his level. There was nothing he could say to retaliate. His partner had always known how to read him like a book where no one else knew how to and he did the same in return, not to mention that he was always saving his life. That's what made him fall in love with the man that was kneeling before him.**_

"_**Let's put that love of yours to a test, shall we?"**_

_**Cloud gasped when his partner whispered into his ear and screamed when he put the knife through his left shoulder and began to remove his pants while chuckling.**_

"_**NO! Please stop! SEPHIROTH!"**_

* * *

"Cloud…are you ready?"

Cloud came back to reality and stared at the spiky brunette man in front of him. He hated when his mind would travel back to memories of his old partner, _especially_ those of that night...the night when Sephiroth...

"Yeah… I guess so…"

"You know, I could do it for you if you're not feeling well. Actually, I'm kinda surprised that you're here at the station and not at your house after witnessing-"

"I'm fine Zack."

The 30 year old inspector sighed before getting out of the chair next to Cloud's desk and came to stand behind Cloud to try and rub his shoulders, but as usual, Cloud grabbed his hand before he could touch him.

"Don't…"

"Why not?"

'_Because that's what _he_ used to do when I'd get stressed out…'_

Cloud didn't answer him and instead got out of his chair to go and address what happened to his police force. Zack watched Cloud go and muttered a curse. Just when he thought that Cloud was ready to move on from Sephiroth, he goes and shows him that he's no way near being ready. It has been that way for the past five years…he would try to make an advance on Cloud and Cloud would pull away from the start or just when he was about to get to the best part, Cloud would tell him to stop and then not talk to him for days. Zack knew it had something to do with Sephiroth, but he just didn't know what. And what makes it worse is that he wouldn't tell anyone what happened before they were able to handcuff Sephiroth...he wouldn't even tell the judge in Sephiroth's trial. What could've happened to make Cloud shut down on everyone that he considered dear to him? Zack shook his head before heading out of Cloud's office. It wasn't the best idea to miss hearing what action they were going to take about the murders.

* * *

The security guard whistled as he carried the breakfast tray along with a newspaper into the 24/7 prison cell room door where another security guard was holding the door open for him. The security guard hid the smirk that was on his face as he walked up to the single cell in the middle of the large room. The silver-haired man in the cell smirked back at the guard in recognition of who it was.

"Good morning officer, Daj. Love your brown hair by the way…"

"Good morning Sephiroth and thank you for the compliment. You know the drill. In the corner, hands behind your head and no turning around until you hear the door close."

"Yes, sir."

He motioned for the other two guards in the room to open the door and shifted the tray in to one hand as he made his way inside of the cell. As he sat the tray down on the small table within the cell, he grabbed the small piece of paper that was on the edge of the table and bawled it up in his fist before slowly making his way out of the cell and closing it. The other guard quickly locked the cell before returning to his normal post. He stood a few feet away from the cell and watched as Sephiroth slowly ate his food and opened up the newspaper.

"Oh my…the Commissioner and two other workers from ShinRa are found dead at the same time in coffee shops in different areas? What is this world coming to?" Sephiroth said sarcastically as he chuckled, making all of the guards, except for one, frown in disgust.

"I don't know what is worse. Being called a serial killer or the idiotic people of this city thinking that I did it when I have yet to move from this cell in 8 years… What do you think officer Daj?"

"Hmm, I don't know. Both seem to have their ups and downs…" He said with a smirk, which made Sephiroth laugh.

"How the fuck can you say that Daj? Obviously being called a serial killer is worse and you socializing with this freak is fucking weird!" the other officer said with anger in his voice.

"I don't seem the harm in doing so. I mean, it's not like he's getting out anytime soon and I hate it when it gets silent in here. It's creepy…"

"Not as creepy as you talking with the worst serial killer of our century as if he was your next door neighbor…"

"Well, since you haven't tried, why don't you try making small talk with him to help pass the time?"

"Fuck off."

"Suit yourself."

When he saw Sephiroth's smirk turn into a grin, he smiled, letting him know that he understood what his master wanted him to do with the angry guard. He'll take good care of the officer when he goes on break…

* * *

"So, what do we have so far ladies and gentlemen?" Cloud said as he examined the pictures that were taken at each crime scene that were tacked onto the bulletin board.

"The first victim that was declared dead on the scene by the paramedics was Dr. Hollander, a former employee of ShinRa. He was found on the coffee shop three blocks away from the next victim, Palmer, the ex-leader of the Space Department of ShinRa, who was found in a coffee shop four blocks from the last victim, Lazard Deusericus, ex-executive of ShinRa and Commissioner of the police force." Lieutenant Tifa said as she read the notes from her clipboard.

"Any connections made so far?"

"Several. They all were former employees of ShinRa, they were at coffee shops when they died, they died by the same method: gun shot through the left eye and…their time of deaths are the same." Detective Cid said as he folded his arms in his chair.

"Suspects?"

"…"

Cloud turned to face his police force and frowned when he saw that they stared at the ground or looked away, as if to say that they are afraid to say what they were thinking.

"I asked if there were any _suspects_."

"One…but it's impossible…" Another detective, Vincent, said.

"Well? I'm all ears since nothing is impossible."

"Ex-detective Se-"

"_That's_ impossible."

"But you just said-"

"I know what I said and I'm about to explain why I said it's impossible. One, Evil Eye is still in prison, and yes I called to make sure of it. Two, he doesn't like to use guns; he prefers knives as he demonstrated so in the murders that took place 8 years ago."

"But he did use a gun on-"

"Those that he wasn't after…those he dubbed as unintentional kills. The ones that he was intentionally after, he used his favorite knife…"

"So, what are you trying to say?" Zack asked.

"That these three murders are _connected_ with Sephiroth's, but they weren't done by him…"

"Then who did it?"

"His apprentice…"

He wasn't surprised when he saw his force stare at him with shock in their eyes.

"…What?" Detective Yuffie said.

"Evil Eye has an apprentice."

"And how do you know that?" Tifa said.

"He…he told me…the night when he was arrested…"

Cloud turned back to the pictures to not let his force see how glassy his eyes were and to circle the broken windows in the pictures with his red sharpie.

"Moving on, the apprentice used a gun, most likely a sniper rifle, to aim and shoot the victims in their left eye, probably to scare the city into thinking that Evil Eye had broken out of prison since he was the only serial killer that killed his intentional victims by stabbing them in their left eye. See where the shots in the windows are? All three of them are at an angle, signaling that the apprentice was using a rooftop to aim and shoot from. The problem with this theory is that…how can one person be in three different places at one time?"

"Maybe there are three instead of one apprentice…" Cid said with a wave of his hand.

"How can that be?" Tifa said.

"Well, if I were him, not saying that I am or anywhere close to being as fucking crazy as that asshole, I would make sure to have more than one apprentice, just in case the first one fails…or just to make sure that whoever I wanted them to kill gets done a lot faster than just having one person handle it…"

Cloud's eyes widened, making everyone in the room become silent. He had never thought that Sephiroth would have more than one apprentice…nor did he think that Sephiroth would take the time to train three people at once. This new theory made things worse…

"Cloud…?" Zack asked with worry in his eyes.

"This…this changes everything… If there are indeed three apprentices, we need to find them immediately…they could wipe out the city if they are just as deadly as he is!"

"But Cloud, where do we start? Sephiroth-"

"Evil Eye."

"Whatever. It took forever to wait for him to slip up!" Zack said with frustration.

"He didn't slip up… He let himself get caught…"

"So what! The point is that we have nothing but three dead guys, which one of them just so happens to be _our_ Commissioner, and no leads on who they could be! We don't even have an idea of where to start looking for them!"

Cloud sighed. He knew why Zack was becoming frustrated. Like Lazard, he made the mistake of assuming that they were safe since Sephiroth was off of the streets, as did the rest of the city. It seemed that he was the only one that knew Sephiroth's reign of evil wasn't over…not by a long shot. As soon as he let himself get arrested, Cloud knew that he was just beginning…

"We _do_ have a start… I want a team to check the rooftops of the building across from where they were killed to see if the apprentices left anything behind, another team to search his house for any clues, and..."

Cloud stared down at the ground as he felt himself begin to tremble at what he was about to request.

"…someone to come with me to Midgar State Prison…"

"Why are you going to the prison?" Tifa asked with concern.

"I…I need to talk to _him_…"

_**To Be Continued…**_

* * *

**A/N: Dun, dun, dun! Cloud's going to have a short reunion with Sephiroth… :)**

**R&R**

**-**_**KTK**_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews, favorites and alerts! I really appreciate them!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII**

**Warning(s): I believe Sephiroth is a warning enough…haha! Also, this is quite lengthy...**

* * *

"So… What exactly do you need to talk to your old partner about Cloud?"

"Whether or not he's involved with the three deaths…"

Zack sighed as he drove down the road towards the prison that held the greatest serial killer of the century, his old friend and comrade, and Cloud's ex-partner and…unrequited love. He glanced at Cloud before sighing. Even though Cloud was staring out of the window and barely talking to him, he knew that Cloud was scared to see him again. His whole demeanor was a complete giveaway. Zack couldn't blame him...fear had slivered down his spine when Cloud said he needed to talk to him when they were at the station hours ago and he was still twitching. What made him even twitchier was how fast the prison agreed to let Cloud speak to him. Most of the time, if not all, the warden would request that they made an appointment to visit a prisoner a day or so ahead of time so that they can prepare them, especially since Sephiroth was in Supermax Security now. He didn't know what strings Cloud had to pull in order for them to see him today, nor did he want to…

Cloud watched the trees began to dwindle to down to bare land and felt the knot in his stomach tighten. They were getting close to the prison and the fear he tried so hard to get rid of came back with a passion. Ever since Tseng told him on the phone that he had Sephiroth moved from Maximum Security to Supermax Security because he had a bad feeling that he was up to something, Cloud has felt nauseous ever since. If Tseng had a bead feeling about Sephiroth, it was a sure sign that he was involved in the three murders that took place yesterday. Even though in his heart and mind he knew that Sephiroth was, he needed to hear it from the man himself. The only problem was that he wasn't fully ready to see Sephiroth just yet. Granted it had been 8 years since the last time he did see him, he wasn't mentally ready to see him because he knew what Sephiroth would say. Sephiroth will break him mentally…just like he did the night he was arrested. And Cloud knew no matter how hard he will try to act that Sephiroth's words don't affect him, He knew that Sephiroth will see straight through it and use his defense against him.

"Zack, I think you should stay in the car when we arrive." Cloud said, still not facing the man driving.

"And let you be alone to deal with that psycho? I don't think so! I didn't volunteer to go with you to be your chauffer!" Zack said with narrowed eyes and with hints of anger.

"Then why did you volunteer?" Cloud said with annoyance.

"This isn't a game Zack! He preys on those who are weak minded and are quick to let their emotions get the best of them and you and I both know that your actions are based on emotion more so than intelligence wise."

"Then why are _you _visiting him?"

Cloud saw that coming and didn't answer him, not because he didn't want to, he was afraid of how Zack would react if he told him that he wasn't just visiting Sephiroth for answers…he was visiting him because he still _cared_ about his partner...

* * *

"Alright Sephiroth, it's time to clean your cell." Officer Daj said as he stood in front of the cell and motioned for Sephiroth to move to his usual corner.

"It's quite early for that isn't it?" Sephiroth said with a raised eyebrow before smirking.

"Ah, I see… I must have a visitor on the way, a _certain_ blond deputy-commissioner."

"Get in the corner now Sephiroth." Tseng said as he narrowed his eyes as he came to stand next to the officer. Sephiroth's smirk grew as he slowly got out of his chair and moved to stand in his corner with his hands through the bars, where the other two officers hand cuffed him to the bars to keep him in place.

"Honestly Tseng, I believe you are overdoing yourself… You act as if I'm going to try to escape. Now why would _I _do such a thing?" Sephiroth said as he smiled at the officers who chained him, which made their eyes widen before they slowly backed away from the bars.

"If you know what's good for you, I'd keep your mouth shut before I-"

"Before you _what_?" Sephiroth said in a deadly tone.

"Tell the judge to make me have a re-trial so that I can get the death penalty instead of life in prison? That's quite low for you Tseng. Then yet again…you _were_ a prosecutor, the lowest pieces of shit on this planet that will quickly make sure they make their money's worth first, even if it means lying to win a case... Isn't that right?"

Sephiroth began to laugh when he didn't hear Tseng respond to him and told the other officers to open the cell and to clean and inspect his cell thoroughly. He did _hate_ that man…just as much as he hated Hojo, but at least the chairman died by his hands and as for Tseng… Sephiroth grinned. If his apprentices follow his instructions to the T, he will have the honor of dying by his hands as well… Sephiroth shifted his thoughts from his plan to his _special guest_ that will be arriving soon. He had no doubts that Zack would be with his little partner as well. He was going to have so much_ fun_ when he arrived…

* * *

"Damn, there's nothing up here!" Cid said as he smoked a cigarette on the roof of the building that was across the street from the coffee shop where Hollander was killed. He made Yuffie visit the one where Palmer was killed and Reno visit the one where Lazard was killed.

"We gotta keep searching Cid. There may be something that they left behind." He heard Yuffie say through the three-way walkie talkie.

"Yeah…right. It's a load of shit if you ask me! If they work for Sephiroth, they won't leave a goddamn thing behind!"

"Just shut up and keep looking!" Reno said. When Cid leaned over the edge of the roof, the wind blew out his cigarette.

"Aww dammit! Fuck!" Cid said as he went to reach for his lighter. He paused when something caught his eye from where he could see the coffee shop from.

"I…I found something!" He yelled into the walkie-talkie that was attached to his chest before running over to the corner of the rooftop and kneeling down.

"What is it? What did you find?" Yuffie said.

"It's…a number. I found it etched into the brick… The place where I found it at has an excellent view of the coffee shop from and I could see where Hollander was shot at because of the broken window. This has to be where the gunman was standing at! I don't know what the fuck the number is supposed to symbolize but it's something! And if there's more than one gunman, I bet they left something there too. Look where you have a great view of the coffee shop and check around there." Cid ordered Yuffie and Reno.

"I found a number as well." Yuffie said.

"Yeah…me too…" Reno said with a sigh.

"Good. Take pictures of it and how good the view was of the coffee shop from where the number is. After you two finish, meet me back at the station to develop them. Got it?"

"Yeah." They both said before Cid turned off the walkie talkie. Cid furrowed his brows. What does the 6 stand for?

* * *

After Zack and Cloud walked through the metal detectors of the prison, they were greeted by Tseng.

"Good evening Cloud and Zack. Though I'd rather be saying good morning instead…" Tseng said after he shook both of their hands.

"I know and I do apologize for making an appointment on such a late notice, but this is an emergency and it couldn't wait till morning." Cloud said in a neutral tone that made Zack raise a brow.

"I know, follow me please and listen to me carefully because I will not repeat myself." Tseng said as he motioned for them to follow after him before he began talking in a serious tone.

"I assume that you both are well aware of what Sephiroth is capable of doing so I won't go into those details. Though I made sure that he has 24/7 security and surveillance, that won't be enough to stop him if he tries to get out so I would prefer if you don't do anything that will provoke him to try. He has been moved to the Supermax Security level because not only do I have a suspicion that he's up to something, he provoked another inmate into hanging himself with barbed wire. How the inmate obtained the barbed wire, I still have no idea, for all I know Sephiroth could've supplied it for him…and how he obtained it, I don't know that either."

"Then how do you know that he was responsible?" Cloud asked with furrowed brows.

"He had the nerve to say to me after we pulled the body out of the cell next to his that he did me a _favor_ before laughing in my face."

Zack and Cloud's eyes widened in shock at what they just heard. Tseng glanced at them over his shoulder before continuing.

"Anyway, he now has his own floor and stays in a large cell that has a bed, table, and chair and ten security guards at a safe distance watching his every move. He doesn't talk to any of the security guards except for officer Daj, since he's the only one that willingly strikes up a conversation with him. I have already confronted him about speaking to Sephiroth and he claims that he talks to him because he wants to make him more comfortable since he's going to die here, which is reasonable. I warned him to stick to light conversation topics and nothing too heavy. What confuses me even more is that he's the only one that Sephiroth doesn't try to make uncomfortable. I've had plenty of guards hand in their two weeks notice because they felt like they were about to go insane."

"If it's alright with you, I want to this officer tomorrow to get better details about what they talk about." Cloud said.

"I'll arrange it." Tseng said as they turned the corner to see the officer in question standing out front of a large door.

"Officer Daj, this is Deputy-Commissioner Cloud Strife and Inspector Zack Fair. They are here to visit Sephiroth for a while and would you please walk them in after you tell them the precautions?"

Cloud stared at the officer in suspicion when he reached to shake his hand. The officer seemed…_young_…a tad bit too young for his liking.

"It's nice to meet you both." The officer said with a small smile on his face after he shook hands with Zack.

"How old are you if you don't mind me asking?" Cloud asked emotionlessly.

"I know I look a lot younger, but I'm 24."

Cloud continued to stare at the officer and looked down at his badge.

"You've dyed your hair?" Cloud asked with furrowed brows.

"Yes I did…I think I look better with brown hair."

"Then make sure you update your badge photo because you look different from when you had black hair.

"I will do that immediately, sir. The precautions when dealing with Sephiroth are that you are not allowed to feed him or give him important documents without having one of the guards thoroughly check it to make sure that nothing you give him can be eventually turned a weapon. Next is distance: you are not allowed to stand within three feet of his cell for your own safety. There is a solid red line that circles around the cell that marks the three feet distance just in case you forget. The last thing is your gun. You are not allowed to pull it out unless he is trying to escape or he has a guard or one of you in a position that is life threatening. Other than that, he's yours to talk to freely." The officer said before he turned to face the door and typed in the password and used his badge to slid through the card slot until the red light turned green and the steel doors opened and the officer moved out of the way and motioned for Tseng, Zack and Cloud to step through. Cloud felt his heart beat quicken. This was it…

* * *

"Vincent…have you ever met Sephiroth's wife?"

"No, I can't say that I ever have. Not even at a Christmas party…"

Tifa paused as she stopped searching the couch. She and Vincent have been searching Sephiroth's house for the past two hours and found nothing.

"Don't you find that odd?"

"Yes and no. Sephiroth was a very quiet man, he always kept to himself, except when Cloud would force him to talk." Vincent said as he looked around in the dining room.

"But…there's not even a _single_ picture of Sephiroth's wife anywhere either. We haven't even come across a wedding album. It's almost like she doesn't exist…"

"But she does… Cloud said that he has met a bunch of times. He said that she's just as quiet as Sephiroth was. He tried to contact her the morning after Sephiroth's arrest, only to find that Sephiroth's house was completely empty. He doesn't know if she's dead or not…"

"But… Hypothetically speaking, if you were a serial killer, what would you do if you had a wife?" Tifa asked as he moved to search the rest of the living room.

"I would view her as a liability and bury the in the back of my yard."

"Well then, let's find a shovel and dig up the backyard because I have a feeling that she's not alive..."

* * *

"Good to see you…Cloud."

Cloud's eyes widened when he saw Sephiroth standing in his cell with his bright orange jumpsuit on with a smirk on his face as if to say that serving 8 years in jail so far hadn't changed anything.

"That damn cat still has a nice grip on your tongue I see… I could've sworn that I got rid of it for you 8 years ago…"

Cloud's eyes narrowed as he heard Sephiroth chuckle.

"Enough, you know why I came here."

"I do?" Sephiroth said as he raised a brow.

"Yes you do and I demand-"

"Now, hold on just a second." Cloud's heart began to triple its beating when Sephiroth narrowed his eyes.

"You have the audacity to waltz in here and demand something from me? Someone hit their head this morning…" Sephiroth shook his finger at Cloud before chuckling.

"Alright then, how do you want to play this?" Cloud said, trying to not let his frustration show.

"Since I want to know what you've been up to these past 8 years, we take turns asking each other questions. You don't answer my questions I won't answer yours and since I know that you have _very_ important questions that you are just _dying _to know the answers to, I think it would be in your best interest that you hold up on your end of the bargain. Agreed?"

"Hold on Cloud. That's not the-" Zack began, but got cut off by Sephiroth.

"Well…_this_ is new. Since when did you need someone to make decisions for you, Cloud? I'm disappointed…"

"I'm not making-"

"Agreed."

Sephiroth grinned as he saw the face that Zack made at Cloud. So his suspicions were right… Poor little blond…he was going to leave this place in tears tonight.

"Since you are a guest, I'll let you go first." Sephiroth said as he sat down in his chair with a smile on his face as he rested an arm on the table.

"Cloud, you shouldn't-" Zack tried again, but this time Cloud glared at him.

"Are you questioning my decision, Inspector? If you have a problem with it, feel free to let officer Daj escort you out." Cloud said in a voice that dared Zack to challenge him. Zack stared at Cloud before shaking his head. Cloud turned his attention back to the smirking inmate and walked up to the red line. He took a long sigh before he asked his first question.

"How have you been?" Cloud asked in a quiet voice, shocking Zack and Tseng. Sephiroth stared at Cloud before he closed his eyes.

"I've had better days I suppose… Thank you for _wasting_ your first question on my well-being, but perhaps you already knew that I was going to ask you as well and decided to return the favor. So, _my_ question for you Cloud is… Have you let Zack Fair fuck you yet?" Sephiroth said with a grin on his face as he opened his eyes to stare into shocked blue ones that belonged to Cloud.

"Why does that-"

"Ah, ah, ah Cloud. That's a question. Answer mine first or you can turn around now and leave."

Sephiroth smiled when he saw Cloud visibly shake before he sighed and turned to look at the floor.

"No…"

"It didn't matter. I was just curious. How do you think he's feeling about not letting him fuck you?"

"Hey! That's-" Cloud said as he turned to face him with narrowed eyes before Sephiroth cut him off.

"I answered your second question that you wasted. Now answer mine."

Cloud now understood why Zack was trying to make him reconsider the deal Sephiroth offered and he foolishly agreed without thinking all of the way through. Cloud cursed. He just gave Sephiroth the keys to asking anything he wanted and he chose to ask the questions that he wasn't ready to answer, especially since they dealt with his sex life with Zack that was non-existent. He could feel how angry Zack was getting, not that he could blame him. He had every right to be angry…

"I…I think he feels disappointed…"

He frowned when he heard Sephiroth snicker.

"What's so funny?" Cloud said without thinking.

"You are. Why do you think he's disappointed?"

Cloud cursed again as fear began to re-build in his stomach again. He knew what Sephiroth was getting at and he didn't like it… He wasn't ready to admit _that_ to Sephiroth or anyone else in the room. How could he when he couldn't admit it to himself.

"He's disappointed because I'm not ready to go to that level yet…"

"_Interesting_… Your turn."

"I know that you've heard of the murders that took place yesterday. Did you do it?"

Sephiroth let out a laugh and Cloud trembled on the inside. He recognized that laugh when someone asked him a stupid question.

"You and I both know the answer to that."

"That's not an answer!"

"Yes it is. If you wanted me to be more _specific_, you should've asked a more _specific_ question. Now, my turn… Do you masturbate instead?"

"What the fuck! Why are you so interested in his sex life, you fucking psycho!" Zack yelled and Sephiroth grinned.

"Would you like to enter our deal Zack? You're more than welcome to."

"No, don't-" Cloud said but Zack ignored him.

"Fine! Count me in!"

Cloud stared at Zack as if he had four heads as Sephiroth continued to smile.

"This must be my lucky day… Answer my question Cloud."

"… Yeah."

"Alright then... Zack, ask me your question now."

"I already did! Why the fuck are you so interested in Cloud's sex life?"

"Because I can be. Now my turn for the both of you, Zack, are you taking my questions about Cloud's sex life so personal because you're in love with him and know that he doesn't love you back and Cloud, who have you been thinking of when you masturbate for the past 8 years?"

When the room became silent, Sephiroth's laugh echoed throughout the large room.

"I'm waiting for an answer…"

"Yes…" Zack said with sadness in his voice. Cloud turned away from him. He knew Zack liked him more than a friend should when they were in the police academy before he met Sephiroth. He just pretended that Zack wasn't really in love with him since he had a girlfriend then. He knew that Zack's love was real when he told him about his feelings for Sephiroth when Sephiroth was his partner. That was the first time he ever saw Zack look as if he just heard something that made his heart break…and he was about to do it again…

"You, Sephiroth…" Cloud said as he looked down to the floor again and when he felt tears slip out of his eyes, he knew he lost to Sephiroth all over again…and Sephiroth knew it.

* * *

As much as Sephiroth loved to see Cloud suffer, he loved it even more when ones that loved Cloud suffered even more than Cloud did…it was so…_amusing _to him that one simple question can break someone, especially if they're weak already and Cloud, though he held the potential to be strong and greater than what people give him credit for, was weak…because he didn't kill him when he know he should have. He let his feelings for him get in the way, which in the end, will be his downfall.

"I believe it's time we call this game over and done with since I clearly won. And since I pity you _both_, I'll let you in on what I _think_ of those three murders at the coffee shop." Sephiroth said while chuckling. When teary blue eyes looked up at him in shock, he began to say what he thought.

"Think of me as your history teacher and you better take good notes since this will be the _last_ time you see me before your big test. First and foremost, history has a nasty way of repeating itself, so it's best to brush up on what happened in the past to prevent it from happening in the future, even though sometimes it is inevitable. As you can tell, the murderers have done that already and learned it like the back of their hand, which is quite impressive on the first kill. Also, you should know that the next kills will be much better than the last, since that is the only way you grow is by taking what you've learned and applying it, then doing it again and again until you've mastered it. If you let them master it, you're too late to stop them. I cannot tell you how to catch them, but I can tell you how to predict their attacks. Think like them and you'll succeed."

"Wait, so-"

"Let me finish, Cloud. You are going to be in for the long haul on this case and you need to be prepared for any and everything all at once because if you're not, then the city of Midgar is going to crumble. You are dealing with me times three and that spells out deadly trouble for your police force of puppets that waited for my every move in order to find me. Don't take too long to figure out who's behind this or else the entire case will pass you by and you'll miss the most important piece of _jewelry_."

"Sephiroth…I don't understand what you just said." Cloud said as a tear slid down his face.

Sephiroth smirked before shaking his head.

"Sorry, chocobohead-"

"No! Don't call me that! Don't you_ dare_ call me that! Only the sane part of you can call me that and he's long gone now!" Cloud yelled in anger.

"Truth is Cloud… I _never _was sane…" Sephiroth laughed bitterly before meeting Cloud's eyes again.

"Insanity isn't always insane and not everyone is always who they say they are… Remember those two things and you'll figure it out in time." Sephiroth said before he stood up and beckoned Cloud to come closer. Ignoring the yells for him not to step forward, Cloud did so anyway until he was a few inches away from Sephiroth and extended his left hand out for Sephiroth to take. Sephiroth grabbed Cloud's gloved hand and kissed it.

"The eye can't lie about what it sees; the mind does that for it and a _dangerous_ mind makes one _wicked _sight…" Sephiroth said before releasing it.

"Sephiroth…?" Cloud said in confusion. He still didn't understand what he was saying to him.

"Now go home and get some rest, you have a long day tomorrow for collecting notes. I'm _sure _that the team you sent on the roofs of the coffee shops and to my house has found something to share with you. Don't _fail_ my test Cloud. I'd hate to lose a _great_ student."

"Sephiroth… Why did you do it?" Cloud whispered desperately.

"Do your research. Al you need to know is there…my precious little _diamond_…" Sephiroth said before he narrowed his eyes in pain at the taser the guard used and dropped to his knees as Zack pulled Cloud away from him and towards the exit.

"Good luck chocobohead…" Sephiroth said before chuckling. When he saw foot tapping the ground in annoyance, looked up to see a pissed off officer.

"Way to go Sephiroth. That little stunt you just pulled will make things more difficult." The officer whispered heatedly.

"No…it won't Kadaj. I just made things a _whole _lot easier for you and your brothers to do. Don't fail me tonight once you leave… I'll know when I read the newspaper tomorrow morning. Understand?" Sephiroth whispered back as he watched the guards begin to move closer to them.

"Yes, master."

Kadaj turned to the other guards that approached them.

"It's alright. He'll be back to his old self in no time."

* * *

Cloud wasn't surprised when his back collided harshly against the cement wall. He knew that Zack was beyond furious with him.

"What the fuck was that all about in there, Cloud! I didn't understand what he said at all! I know you did so tell me what he said right now!" Zack said angrily.

"He said what I needed to hear…" Cloud said in a low voice, emotionless once again.

"Which was…?"

"That he's involved and that there is more than one apprentice. What he has them doing is more than just killing people…they are targets that are linked to the ones that Sephiroth killed 8 years ago…they all have one factor in common and if I find that common factor, I can save the lives of innocent people, but not the ones he has targeted…"

"But you didn't find out who the apprentices are or at least a hint of whom they could be!"

"Yes I did…he said that I'm dealing with himself times three…meaning that our killers look like him… Everyone is not always who they say they are...he means that they are disguised to make it easier for them to get around and to retrieve Sephiroth's lectures and notes and Sephiroth will know if they passed or fail by reading the newspaper."

Zack stared at Cloud in confusion.

"How did you get all of that out of what he was saying?"

"It's simple really…" Cloud said as he pushed Zack off of him.

"I know how to speak Sephiroth." Cloud said before he walked back down the hall that would lead him out of here.

"So, my bad feeling was right…"

Zack turned to see Tseng with a frown on his face.

"If what Cloud said is true, then that's all I needed to hear..."

Zack furrowed his brows in confusion. He didn't like how Tseng was talking.

"What do you mean?"

"Midgar has adopted the death penalty."

Zack's eyes widened in understanding as Tseng walked down the same hall as Cloud did. He was going to make Sephiroth have a new trial and use what Cloud said to him as a confession to crimes of conspiracy for Lazard, Palmer, and Hollander's deaths and whomever else dies since he basically said he's the one in charge of the whole thing. If Sephiroth is convicted… Zack shook his head. He couldn't tell Cloud, not yet… If Cloud can find the three who pulled the trigger on Lazard, Palmer and Hollander before Tseng takes Sephiroth to court, then Sephiroth can stay with his current sentence, unless Tseng says that Sephiroth said for them to do it, which he did… Zack sighed. Sephiroth, as much as he now hated the guy for making him admit that he was still in love with Cloud, was completely screwed.

* * *

When Cloud reached the car, he made sure he was alone before he let the tears fall from his eyes. He made sure that Zack and Tseng thought he left the hallway when he heard what Tseng said about the death penalty.

_So, that's what he meant by the last time I'll see him…he knew what Tseng was planning to do…and there's nothing I can do to stop him…_

Cloud knew that it was a lose-lose situation. If catches Sephiroth's apprentices or not, Sephiroth would still die. Cloud flinched when he felt his cell phone vibrate. He wiped his eyes and cleared his voice before answering.

"Cloud speaking."

"_You might want to come over to the morgue right now. Tifa and I found a body buried in Sephiroth's back yard. We need you to confirm whether or not it's his wife..." _

Cloud furrowed his eyebrows. Something wasn't right…

"I'll be over there as soon as I can."

As soon as Cloud hung up the phone, Zack was walking towards the car.

"We have to get to the morgue. Vincent and Tifa found a body."

* * *

"_Master did what! Why would he tell that to Cloud! Is he trying to kill himself!"_

"No. He made it easier for us to get to the other people we need to. Think about it…the bastards that are our smart targets all went into hiding once they heard that three more of their people were killed. Once we kill another one tonight, they'll be more likely to disappear! Since they think its master and when the press reports that he's having a new trial for crimes of conspiracy and not multiple murders, it will bring them out of hiding. Genius, but also suicidal…"

"_So what are we going to do since it sounds like the plan changed?"_

"Well first, we have to see a certain diamond specialist by the name of Reeve Tuesti at the Wicked Jewelers on the block where you killed Palmer. It's closed, but he stays behind to polish the jewelry so he won't have to do it in the morning. Also, master needs us to pick up a special piece of jewelry before we leave."

"_Well, it sounds like I'll be meeting you there in fifteen?"_

"Yep. And this time, we can't use guns."

_**To Be Continued…**_

* * *

**A/N: If you happen to be slightly confused about what's going on, I'll be willing to help you clear up some fuzzies…to a certain extent since I don't want to give away the plot! The next Chap is when the 'fun' begins… :)**

**R&R**

_**-KTK**_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: A big thank you for those of you who reviewed, favorited, and alerted! I would also like to say a very large thank you to Nikki for leaving such a sweet review! :) I really appreciated it!**

**Disclaimer: Same as 1****st**** Chap**

**Warning(s): The same as first chap as well. **

* * *

"_**So, have you enjoyed the tour so far?"**_

"_**Yes I have. Thank you for still giving me one when you said that are too busy to give me one, sir."**_

"_**It's not that big of a deal. Come, I'll show you to your partner. He should be here by now."**_

_**Cloud happily followed after Commissioner Lazard with a smile on his face. This was his first day as a detective fresh out of the police academy and to say that he was excited was an understatement. When Lazard opened the door to where the other detectives and officers were, he wasn't surprised to see a lot of people running around. There was a new serial killer that was on the loose in Midgar and from what many reporters, and Lazard, say, he maybe the worse one of the year, even though he only killed two people.**_

"_**Ah, there he is."**_

_**When Lazard pointed his partner out, Cloud couldn't help but gasp in shock and blush a bit at the man who was sitting behind the desk on his computer. He couldn't believe that his partner was none other than the Great Sephiroth. He had heard so many stories about how he handled his cases quickly and thoroughly all by himself…and how handsome he was up close. It was a no-brainer that he admired the man and aspired to be like him. He knew that Zack was fed up with him always talking about him everyday. Just wait until he told him this… As they walked closer to the great detective, Cloud felt his giddiness begin to rise and he hoped that he wouldn't embarrass himself. When they stopped in front of his desk, he noticed that Sephiroth didn't even look up to acknowledge their presence, but he could tell that he knew that they were there.**_

"_**Detective Sephiroth, this is your new partner Cloud Strife. He just transferred here from the police academy and he'll be of good use to you on the case that you're working on."**_

_**Cloud held his breath as he saw Sephiroth glance up at him before turning back to his computer. Brushing off the coldness of the glance, he decided to speak up.**_

"_**It's a pleasure to meet you. I hope that-"**_

"_**Chocobohead."**_

_**Cloud raised a brow in confusion at what his partner said while still looking at the computer.**_

"_**Excuse me?"**_

"_**You head looks like a chocobo's. You have the hair, hair color and eyes like one. Does that mean you are a birdbrain as well?"**_

_**Cloud gasped before glaring at the smirking man who still chose to look at his computer screen rather than at them.**_

"_**Well, I rather be a birdbrain than a complete jackass towards someone you just met and don't even have the balls enough to look at them while you insult them."**_

_**Cloud could feel Lazard staring at him in bewilderment, but he could care less. He knew that Sephiroth was great at what he did, but he just learned that he was the biggest dick in Midgar. He felt some sort of satisfaction when the man turned to him with an eyebrow raised, but he felt his satisfaction slip away when he heard the man chuckle.**_

"_**My apologies. I didn't mean to ruffle your feathers already. I'll make sure I have a nice bowl of bird feed ready for you before I say something to you. Is that okay?" Sephiroth said with a big grin on his face as Cloud glared as his face turned red.**_

"_**You asshole! I'm not a chocobo!" Cloud yelled, attracting the attention of the other workers at the station.**_

"_**Hmm…could've fooled me… You have the temper of one as well. I take it that no one has broken you in yet. I'll gladly have the honor of doing so, that is if you don't mind…" Sephiroth said with a smile before winking at Cloud. Cloud furrowed his brows before he blush a deep shade of red on his cheeks in realization to what Sephiroth meant, making Sephiroth lightly laugh. Sephiroth stopped laughing when Lazard cleared his throat.**_

"_**Alright, Sephiroth. That's enough. You've had your fun. Now here's your first assignment together…" **_

* * *

Cloud wasn't surprised that the ride to the morgue was silent. He could tell that Zack wasn't done talking to him about what happened with Sephiroth by how tight he was gripping the steering wheel and the tightness of his jaw. Cloud sighed. Mine as well clear the tension in the air…

"Zack, about-"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Cloud frowned when he heard Zack lie. It seemed he was going to make this harder than what it needed to be.

"You're lying."

"No shit."

"Inspector…"

"Don't use my title against me you son of a bitch!"

Cloud slightly flinched at Zack's tone.

"You have a lot of nerve _Deputy-Commissioner_. Not only did you not take my advice before that whole ordeal with Sephiroth took place…you've basically have been lying to me for the past five years."

"I haven't-"

"Why did he kiss your hand like that…? The way he did it…it was like you were his lover that he left behind…"

Cloud felt that familiar feel of dread well up in his stomach. He wasn't ready for this. All he wanted to do was clear the air…not dig into the past…not about Sephiroth in _this _way.

"He used to do that when he would walk me to my apartment late at night… I thought he was doing it to creep me out, but he told me the night before I found him in the chairman's room that he wasn't doing it because of what I thought he was…"

"What was his reason?"

Cloud looked down at his hands in his lap as he felt his vision become blurry with tears. He couldn't tell him it was Sephiroth's way of returning his feelings for him, but couldn't act on them because of his wife.

"It was his way of saying goodnight."

He heard Zack lightly laugh before sighing.

"And you call _me_ out on lying…"

"But-"

"I don't get it… How come you can speak to Sephiroth freely, but when it comes to me or anyone else, we have to push you into a corner in order for you to speak to us…even if it's a lie most of the time. It doesn't make much sense… I understand that he was your partner before we found out who he really was, but…don't you think it's time for you to move on? It's not like Seph's going to be leaving prison anytime soon with a clean slate. You're only hurting yourself in the long run."

"Don't tell me what to do."

He heard Zack gasp but he didn't care as he looked out of the window with narrowed eyes. He was tired of everyone telling him to move on…even though he knew that he should, but it was hard to do so. No one understood how far his feelings ran for Sephiroth…

"Did he…_hurt_ you that night?"

Cloud sighed.

"Obviously. Haven't you seen the scar on my-"

"I'm talking about the scar on your shoulder Cloud… What I'm trying to ask is whether or not if he…_touched_ you before we were able to get to the chairman's office…"

"If you make a right at the next turn, we'll be there sooner than if you kept going straight."

"Cloud…"

"Just do as I say and stop talking!"

Cloud didn't mean to yell, but it had the desired effect.

* * *

"_**Don't you ant to stay here for the night? It-It's pretty late for you to go home now… You can sleep in my bed if you like while I sleep on the couch."**_

"_**Thank you for the offer, but I'm afraid that may…**_**complicate**_** things…"**_

_**Cloud sighed as he stood in the door way of his apartment as he looked down at the floor, not wanting to see Sephiroth's face. He knew what he meant by saying that it would complicate things…**_

"_**I…I understand… It's my fault anyway… I shouldn't have told you how I really feel about you in the hospital. It was a mistake and I understand if you put in a request for a new partner tomorrow. I don't want what I said to distract us from finding Evil Eye… It's best that-"**_

_**Cloud stopped talking when he heard Sephiroth chuckle. He looked up to see that the emerald eyes he'd grown to love were full of amusement. He blushed when Sephiroth grabbed his left hand and kissed it.**_

"_**I swear you make me wish that I was single…"**_

_**Cloud couldn't help but stare at Sephiroth as he started grinning.**_

"_**Get some sleep chocobohead. **_**We**_** have a long day tomorrow…"**_

_**Cloud continued to stare as he watched Sephiroth turn to leave and walked towards the elevator. When Cloud closed and locked his front door, he couldn't stop the small smile that showed on his face.**_

* * *

"How do we get in? We can't use the back or the front door because of the security alarms. The roof has them as well."

"That's why master said for us to use only knives. He said that the alarms on the windows go off if you lift them up to a certain height. He said that we can cut the glass with the glass cutter since the Reeve didn't buy tempered glass windows… A stupid move on his part..."

"Ugh! That's too much work! Why can't we just shoot up the place?"

"Because if we do that, it won't look like master was involved! Cloud already knows that he's a fan of using knives instead of guns! We have to make it look like he did it or else the other targets won't come out of hiding!"

"Geez, okay Kadaj… Calm down…"

"I don't have time to calm down, Loz! We have less than half an hour to get through the building and find him without tripping off the alarms!"

"You better make time, or else you will become a liability…"

"Thanks, that made me feel a whole lot better Yazoo."

"I could care less if it did or didn't… We are wasting time standing here arguing back and forth. Someone could be watching us…"

"Psh! And you tell me to calm down… You're always thinking that someone's watching us…"

"It's disturbing that you don't as well seeing as though what our occupation is."

"Eh, I view it more as a hobby…"

"Whatever. Hand me the tool…"

* * *

Cloud sighed as he saw the jewelry that adorned the skeleton. It was Sephiroth's wife alright. He remembered the times he met her and how she was wearing the same pieces of jewelry every single time.

"It's her…"

"Damn…there goes my theory…"

Cloud, Zack, and Tifa looked towards Vincent, who was leaning against the wall.

"The wife is always the husband's apprentice…"

"It wouldn't have been her, even if she was alive."

"Why not?"

"Because Sephiroth said so himself. There's more than one apprentice like Cid assumed."

"What!" Tifa said in shock.

"What else did he say!"

"I don't feel like repeating myself so I'll tell everyone at the same time tomorrow morning when Cid, Yuffie and Reno tell me what they found." Cloud said as he walked away from the skeleton on the examining table and sat down in the chair next to Vincent.

"Are you alright?" Vincent asked, his voice laced with concern.

"I will be once I get some rest. What did the mortician say about her?"

"He estimated that she has been dead for eight years and that she died of blood loss from her left eye."

"She was a target…" Cloud whispered to himself in shock.

"What do you mean by target? Cloud…what's going on here?" Tifa said anxiously.

"Sephiroth told Cloud that the murders he committed and the three deaths that took place yesterday all share a similar connection. How they all are connected? I don't-"

Zack was cut off by Cloud's phone ringing. Cloud excused himself before picking it up. Zack, Tifa, and Vincent watched as Cloud's emotionless expression became one of shock.

"What's wrong?" Zack asked with furrowed brows as he watched Cloud hang up the phone.

"That was Cid saying that there was a murder and a robbery at the Wicked Jewelers…he said that Reeve Tuesti was executed the same way _he_ did his victims…"

"But…why would he order his apprentices to rob a jewelry store? It doesn't add up…"

"I don't know, but all of us need to leave and find out."

* * *

"_**So, Sephiroth…you have a wife correct?"**_

"_**Yes. What about her?"**_

"_**Oh, nothing. I just wanted to know if what I heard was true or not…" Cloud said as he took a swig of his beer. He and Sephiroth decided to call it a night and Cloud was surprised that Sephiroth offered to go to the birthday party that the rest of their fellow officers threw for him at the station. Though he only knew his partner for a month, he could tell that Sephiroth was not a people person, even if it was at his own birthday party. Thus explained why he found Sephiroth at his desk and not mingling with the others.**_

"_**You're lying…"**_

_**Cloud couldn't help but chuckle.**_

"_**Alright, you got me. Why isn't she here? It's your birthday after all…"**_

"_**Some things are better left unsaid, chocobohead."**_

_**Cloud sighed in irritation as Sephiroth smirked.**_

"_**Her and I are quite alike. We don't like crowds and tend to keep to ourselves."**_

"_**Then why aren't you home to spend your birthday with her then?"**_

"_**I didn't know that you were trying to get rid of me. It's okay, I understand."**_

_**Cloud's eyes widened as he saw Sephiroth grab his coat before got out of his chair.**_

"_**Wait!" Cloud said as he grabbed his arm.**_

"_**I didn't mean it like that! I was just curious that's all… I…I appreciate it that you want to spend your birthday with me instead…" Cloud said as he felt himself blush. When he looked up at his partner, he cursed inwardly at the shit-eating grin he saw on Sephiroth's face.**_

"_**Who said that I wanted to spend my birthday with **_**you**_**? If I felt like being around a chocobo, I would've been at the chocobo ranch instead of here."**_

_**Cloud growled before punching Sephiroth in his chest as Sephiroth laughed at his antics.**_

"_**Stop calling me that! Just because I look like one doesn't make me one! If that was the case, everyone would assume that you were a grandfather because of your hair!"**_

"_**At least I'm a sexy grandpa."**_

"_**Psh!"**_

"_**You know that you agree with me… I've seen the looks you give me when you think I'm not looking."**_

_**Cloud blushed darker than before as Sephiroth laughed. There was no denying that…**_

"_**Whatever! It's not just me you know!"**_

"_**Wow…I was kidding you know…"**_

"…_**You were…?"**_

_**Sephiroth grinned as Cloud rolled his eyes.**_

"_**Well…this is awkward…"**_

"_**Indeed it is…"**_

_**They sat in silence and chuckled as Zack got a piece of cake thrown at him by Tifa for grabbing her butt.**_

"_**Hey, Sephiroth?"**_

"_**Yes Cloud?"**_

"_**Happy birthday…" Cloud said with a smile.**_

"…_**Thank you."**_

* * *

Sephiroth stared up at the light fixtures in the ceiling on his bed and smirked when he heard dress shoes stop a few feet in front of his cell.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of you visiting me on this _quiet_ night Tseng?"

"I believe an explanation of your actions earlier tonight will suffice."

"Hmm…explanation? I believe that I don't know what you're-"

"Don't fuck with me, Sephiroth!"

Sephiroth laughed as he slowly sat up in his bed and stared at the frustrated man.

"My apologies, but I can't oblige to your request for you see…fucking with people is what I do best and am very good at. Why stop now because you don't know whether to make me have a re-trial."

"I know what I'm doing. I just wanted to see if you would tell it to my face."

Sephiroth chuckled.

"All that I'm going to tell you to your face is this: if it weren't for these bars, I would be carving out your Adam's apple with a paperclip and laugh as I hear you choking on your own blood."

"I'm talking to a judge about you tomorrow. Chuckle while you still can."

"And you watch that neck of yours while you still can…you _never_ know…" Sephiroth said mockingly before he let out another laugh as he watched Tseng walk out of the door. After the door closed, Sephiroth narrowed his eyes in a vicious glare. The bastard didn't know who _he_ was fucking with…but no worries. He'll make sure that Tseng understood in about a week or so.

* * *

Cloud slowly walked through the jewelry store while surveying the damage as other crime investigators took photos and searched for signs of the assistants. What was puzzling him and the others was the fact that everything on the ground level of the store seemed to be untouched. Though Cloud knew that the more expensive items was on the next floor, it didn't make sense that they would only rob the second floor and not take anything from the first when they could get a lot of money off of the items on this floor.

"Deputy-Commissioner, you are needed on the third floor." One of the other investigators said before returning to dusting off the glass of the case where the emeralds were held. Cloud raised a brow before going to the elevator that would take him to the second floor. He didn't know that there was even a third floor in the shop… After he exited the elevator, his eyes widened at the sight of blood stains on the walls and on the carpeted floor.

"The forensic team believes that this is where the altercation began... From what they could tell, one of the apprentices caught Reeve by surprise and a struggle took place. It kept going on until Reeve was able to stun the apprentice and Reeve was able to flee to the backroom where he then used the elevator in that room to go to the third floor. Unfortunately, another apprentice must have already been waiting for him to arrive there because he was found dead against the wall with a glass cutter jammed into his left eye."

Cloud nodded at Vincent before following him to the back room. After the exited the elevator, Cloud saw where Reeve was found at and stared at the blood trail on the white wall. It was a confirmation that Reeve, too, was another target since the apprentices waited for him to be alone.

"Deputy-Commissioner?"

Cloud turned to look at the woman that called him.

"Yes?"

"My team has reported that none of the jewelry was stolen, except for this."

Cloud took the document that the woman handed him and stared at it. It wasn't a document; it was a picture of the largest diamond known to man on this side of the world.

"The name of the diamond is called the Genesis Diamond, which is worth more than the _entire_ value of Costa del Sol. To us and our knowledge of Evil Eye's victims, the theft of this diamond stuns us. We were under the assumption that items such as that have no meaning to him."

"They don't…he wants me to pay attention…" Cloud said with a frown.

_So that's why he said jewelry, wicked, and diamond…_

Sephiroth knew who the next victim would be and where they would be killed at. He was too distraught to realize it then. If Sephiroth wanted him know who and where the next victim would be, there was something else that was here that he wanted him to find.

"Where was this diamond located?"

"It was in this case right over here."

Cloud followed the woman over to the case in the middle of the room and narrowed his eyes.

"Did your team notice the number that was engraved on to the podium?"

"Yes, we did. We hoped that you would have some sort of idea of what it stood for."

"I don't…"

Cloud said as he stared at the number 9 engraved in the podium. Sephiroth was right… He needed to rest before he could even start to imagine what the number meant.

* * *

Kadaj held the large diamond up to the moonlight and grinned as it casted a reflection on his face.

"Too bad we can't sell this baby, right Loz?"

"Yeah…why did he want that by the way?"

"Don't know, don't care. All I know is that we hit another target and my shoulder is killing me."

"Yazoo is gonna kick your ass for letting Reeve almost escape…"

"He wasn't trying to escape! He was going to protect the diamond!"

"If Yazoo wasn't already up there, he would've climbed out of the window and down the fire escape!"

"He still wouldn't have escaped. I would've met him at the end of it."

"That's not the point."

They turned to see Yazoo taking off his make-up and high-heeled shoes before standing in the middle of the living room.

"The point is that you were reckless on this target and we don't need anymore screw-ups like that in the future! If Reeve would've escaped, master would have killed you before you went on your interview with Cloud tomorrow."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that… Did he become suspicious of you?"

"Why would he? All I did was hand him the picture of the diamond and show him where it was before we took it and the number I carved into the podium before Reeve showed up."

"Well, at least you're off the hook. I'm the one who's going to be under his gaze for no telling how long." Kadaj said as he pouted before sitting on the dusty couch.

"Whatever. Just make sure you give us master's next instructions before the cops come over here tomorrow. I'm sure that they'll be over here by noon to search to see if master left a number for Scarlet."

"Yeah, I'll make sure I do that. Just tell me where to meet you two at when I call."

"Agreed." Yazoo said as he picked up a dusted book that was lying near on the small table near the couch. He began to flip through it until a picture fell out of it. Yazoo kneeled over to pick it up before laughing at who was in the picture.

"You may want to take this to master tomorrow for him to keep. If anyone else saw this, it would ruin _everything_." Yazoo said as he handed the picture to Kadaj for him and Loz to see. Kadaj nodded before folding the picture up and stuffing it into his pocket. He knew that master would be more than happy to have this picture with him.

_**To Be Continued…**_

* * *

**A/N: *Happily sighs* feels good to be back and writing again. Sorry, but you won't be finding out who's in the picture until around the end of the story! XD *chuckles like Sephiroth***

**R&R**

**-**_**KTK**_


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews, favorites, and alerts! I appreciate them! Because I haven't updated this in a long time, I decided to post two chapters instead of one today! ^^ Do enjoy reading!**

**Disclaimer: In first chapter.**

**Warning(s): Same as first chapter.**

* * *

"Alright everyone listen up because I do not want to repeat myself again." Cloud said he stood in front of all of the officers that worked in his department.

"What we have here is a diagram of all of the murders that have been linked to Evil Eye and his apprentices. As you all should know… Evil Eye is ex-detective Sephiroth and he himself has told very vital information that pertains to the new series of murders. The first is that he has admitted to being connected to the killers of Palmer, Hollander, and Lazard. The killers of those three are none other than his three apprentices who have yet to reveal their identity." Cloud said as he pointed to the three blank pictures under Sephiroth's. He saw the nervousness on most of his officer's faces, but continued to speak.

"Second, he said that the people that he and his apprentices killed all share not chosen at random, they were all targeted because of a common link and that there are others still out there that are linked as well. If you looked to the other side of the board, I have placed the pictures of the victims that all share common links in order of which they were killed." Cloud said as he moved down to the pictures.

"The first victim was Heidigger, ex-employee of ShinRa in the Department of Public Safety Maintenance, who was found dead at his home. The next was Veld, another ex-employee of ShinRa in the Department of Investigative Division of General Affairs, who was found dead in the alleyway of the ShinRa building. Verdot, ex-employee of ShinRa in the Department of Investigative Division of General Affairs, was found dead in a butcher shop not too far away from the ShinRa building. After him, Grimoire Valentine, ex-employee of ShinRa in the Science Department, was found dead in the ShinRa laboratory on the fifth floor. Dr. Hojo, ex-employee and chairman of ShinRa in the Science Department, was found dead in his office. The next three, Hollander, Palmer, and Lazard, we already know about. The body of Scarlet, ex-wife of Sephiroth and ex-employee of ShinRa in the Department of Weapons Development, was found buried in the backyard of her and Sephiroth's home. And last, Reeve Tuesti, ex-employee of ShinRa in the Department of Urban Development was found dead in his jewelry shop. Now hopefully you all have caught on that all of them are ex-employees of ShinRa before they were killed. What our goal that I want accomplished as soon as possible is to find out why they are considered ex-employees and to get any and every piece of background information that we have on them to find the common link that exists between them and how it relates to Sephiroth. Does anyone have anything else to add, say, or question?"

"I have something to add and to question."

"Go ahead Cid."

"When you told Reno, Yuffie and I to investigate the buildings that are on the opposite side of the streets where Palmer, Lazard, and Hollander were killed, we found something that we don't understand they are there."

"What was it?"

"Well…on the building that was across form where Palmer was killed, Yuffie found the number 4 engraved on a brick where the view was perfect to see anyone who was sitting in the window of the coffee shop. It was the same scenario for Reno and I, only Reno found an engraving of P1 and I found the number 6." Cid read from his notepad as Cloud wrote the numbers above the pictures that they corresponded to.

"My question to you is…what the hell do the numbers and P1 mean and why is there a large diamond missing?"

"Those are the same questions I had in mind myself. You see, Reeve had a number involved with him as well, but the number I found etched into the stand where the diamond was being held at was the number 9. As for the diamond, I'm not sure of just yet, but I want everyone to focus on these numbers at the moment. I believe that the numbers and P1 are a code to figure out what Sephiroth's overall goal is with killing all of these people… I need for a team to investigate the crime scene and to take a look at the photos taken at the crime scene for all of those who do not have a number or lettering over their picture to see if the number or lettering was overlooked in the report. I also would like someone to report to me about the history of the Genesis Diamond. I know it doesn't fit in with the murders, but it must be important since Sephiroth wanted his apprentices to steal only that diamond. So as a recap of what I would like to be done as quick as possible: we need the_ full_ background of all of these 10 people, a background on the diamond, and a re-scan of the crime scenes and the crime scene photos to find out if the other 6 victims have either a number or lettering that is associated with them. Understood?"

"Yes sir." Everyone responded.

"Good, now…get to work."

When the crowd of officers dispersed, Cloud wasn't surprised when Zack walked up to him.

"So, what are we going to do today?"

"I have an interview with the officer that talks to Sephiroth frequently in an hour. What you can do is standby the phone line."

"What? Why!"

"Because, I have a feeling that we are going to have another dead body on our hands soon…"

* * *

"Thank you for bringing my breakfast and newspaper as always officer Daj. It's nice to know that my food can be brought in by someone who_ isn't _trying to kill me." Sephiroth said as he sat down at his table with a grin on his face.

"You're welcome, even though the officer that I sent in to cover for me this morning is dead because of the fork you shoved through the back of his throat..." Kadaj said with narrowed eyes. He wasn't mad at his master because of he thought what he did was wrong. He was happy that his master got rid of the nuisance that wouldn't stop pestering him and knew that the idiot officer deserved it since he thought that Sephiroth wouldn't be able to notice the rat poison in his eggs. He just didn't like being late and he knew that he was two hours late for the interview with Cloud since he had to help clean the blood off of the floor in his master's cell and had to fetch his master a new plate of food.

"My, someone has an attitude this morning…" Sephiroth said with a chuckle before raising a brow at Kadaj, making him flinch.

"It-it's not you… I just don't like being late to important interviews…" Kadaj quickly said in an apologetic tone since he didn't feel like being killed the same way as his fellow officer.

"Are finding a new job?" Sephiroth asked while narrowing his eyes.

"N-No. Cloud needed to-"

"Ah, yes… You did say something about that yesterday before you left didn't you? My apologies for keeping you… You can leave now." Sephiroth said with a smirk on his face, which made Kadaj feel a bit more relieved that his master didn't take his rudeness in the wrong way.

"Thank you. I believe you'll find today's news to be…a bit more…_remorseful_ than usual."

Sephiroth furrowed his brows as he watched Kadaj leave before opening his newspaper while eating. When he saw the picture that was taped inside of the newspaper, he couldn't help but smile remorsefully.

"Remorseful indeed…" Sephiroth said to himself as he caressed the face of the person in the picture. He didn't know where Yazoo, Kadaj, or Loz found it, but he appreciated that they decided to send it to him through the news and attach it right above the headlines that read about the largest diamond being stolen and Reeve found dead. His apprentices were getting better…

* * *

_**When Cloud woke up, he noticed that he wasn't in his apartment and was in a hospital bed with two needles in his arm. He tried to remember the last thing tat he did, but all he could remember was that he and Sephiroth were walking up to his apartment before he felt himself become extremely hot. He knew he hadn't been feeling well for the past week, but-**_

"_**It doesn't hurt to say to me or Lazard that you need a day off because you aren't feeling well… I'd rather a sick chocobo stay home then passing whatever it has on to me."**_

_**Cloud turned his head to stare at Sephiroth.**_

"_**You look like shit…"**_

"_**As do you, but at least I chose not to say anything."**_

_**Cloud weakly chuckled.**_

"_**What happened to me?"**_

"_**The doctor's say that you caught that new virus that has been going around for the past four months…Geostigma I believe…"**_

_**Cloud's eyes widened.**_

"_**But I only thought that could only be caught by children."**_

"_**Or it can be caught by idiot chocobos that don't dress properly when there's snow on the ground…it's just like a normal virus that happened to appear more in children because it got into the schools. Adults can get it just as easily."**_

_**Cloud rolled his eyes before trying to sit up, but stopped when he felt his entire body ache, which made Sephiroth chuckle.**_

"_**How did I get here by the way?"**_

"_**I carried you here."**_

_**Cloud stared at Sephiroth before laughing weakly.**_

"_**Please…like you'd do that for anybody…"**_

"_**I wouldn't but seeing as though you wouldn't respond to me when you collapsed in the stairwell. I had no choice…"**_

_**Cloud stopped laughing and stared at Sephiroth in shock.**_

"…_**It was that bad?"**_

"_**Doctors said you would've died if they would have given you that shot ten minutes later. So yes, it was that bad."**_

_**Cloud noticed how Sephiroth's tone had gone from playful to serious.**_

"_**If you weren't feeling well Cloud you should've said something!"**_

"_**But I knew that you were stressing out over not being able to find clues about who the serial killer could be and I wanted to help-"**_

"_**You can help me by not accidentally killing yourself over something as reckless as this. You have been in the hospital for nine days Cloud!"**_

"_**You stayed with me…?"**_

"_**Someone had to."**_

_**Cloud eyes widened before he began to feel bad. He knew that he wasn't feeling well, but he could see that Sephiroth wasn't acting like his normal self and he began to worry that he might be taking their case a little too personal so he put his sickness aside and focused on Sephiroth more so than himself. Even though he was feeling guilty, he was also feeling happy that he meant something to Sephiroth since he was yelling at him about his recklessness, which meant that he cared. Something caught Cloud's eye and he turned to the small table that was next to Sephiroth and smirked.**_

"_**Did you bring me flowers?"**_

_**Cloud smiled weakly at the pinkness of Sephiroth's cheeks before slowly moving his hand towards Sephiroth's and lightly grabbed it.**_

"_**Thank you…"**_

_**He giggled inwardly when Sephiroth raised an eyebrow in confusion.**_

"_**For what?"**_

"_**You carrying me here…the flowers…staying here with me…everything, really. It shows that you care…" Cloud said as he yawned, feeling tired all over again.**_

_**"Care about what?"**_

"_**About…me…"**_

_**Sephiroth watched as Cloud fell asleep again and sighed. The boy was becoming a **_**huge**_** distraction… All he was supposed to do was have a partner to play detective with, not someone that he was devoting all of his spare time to everyday and…enjoying spending time with. He won't even try to deny that he doesn't care about him. He proved that last night when he didn't go after his target last night because he was still in this chair watching over Cloud to make sure that his recovery was going the way it should be. He looked down at the hand that was still holding onto his and frowned. This can't go on…if it does, then he mine as well kiss his goal goodbye, which he wasn't about to do. With that in mind, he looked down at his watch and knew that his target goes on a lunch break in half an hour, leaving him plenty of time to go home and shower before doing what he needed to do. As he stood up, the hand that was still attached to his tightened and he heard Cloud murmur something. Sephiroth smiled, but quickly wiped it off of his face. Ignoring the screaming part of his mind that told him not to do it, he leaned down and ran a hand through the smooth and golden spikes of blond hair before kissing Cloud's forehead.**_

"_**Sleep tight, chocobohead. I'll be back to visit you later…"**_

_**Sephiroth watched as Cloud lightly smiled and the grip on his hand loosened enough for him to remove his hand out of his and walk out of Cloud's room. Things were becoming too difficult…**_

* * *

Cloud continued to stare at the brown haired officer in front of as watched the man in front of him shift back and forth in his chair and randomly look at things in his office. He still was getting a negative vibe from him and he didn't know why…

"Is something wrong? You've only been here for five minutes and you already look like you want to leave."

"No! Nothing's wrong at all. My apologies, but I guess I'm still a little freaked out from cleaning out Sephiroth's cell…"

"What was wrong with it?"

"Apparently, a fellow officer tried to kill Sephiroth by grinding up rat poison and mixing it into his eggs before trying to serve it to him… He thought that Sephiroth would assume the black spots were pepper, but obviously he thought wrong and got a fork shoved through the back of his throat."

Cloud couldn't help flinching at that. He knew that Sephiroth's killing techniques were gruesome, but…

"Then I don't blame you for being jittery since I'm assuming that you cleaned up the blood, right?"

"Yes, which is the reason why I am late."

"Understandable. So, what is it that Sephiroth talks to you about? I'm under the impression that you _do _understand that Sephiroth aka Evil Eye _is _one of the worst serial killers of the century and is very manipulative, correct?"

"And he also was your partner that you care for."

Cloud narrowed his eyes.

"Did _Sephiroth _tell you that?"

"Well…he told me that he had a partner that wasn't like any of the others he had in the past. I assumed that you must care for him since you brought in the only person that he willingly talks to and not me plus a small group of officers to find out what he's saying."

Cloud tightened his grip on his pen. How this damn man knew what his plan he didn't know, but he didn't like it…

"You shouldn't make assumptions based on what you _think_. I requested for you to come here since I believe you could be a point of contact…if you get what I mean."

"If I was, then why would I agree to come here?"

"You tell me."

Kadaj stared at the emotionless, yet powerful, blues eyes of the Deputy-Commissioner in front of him. How he mastered to stare down at him the same way his master did was incredible…yet scary within its self... He had to wrap this up quickly or else Cloud would find out more than he needed him to know for now.

"I…don't get what you mean by that…"

Cloud rolled his eyes.

"Are you one of Sephiroth's apprentices?"

"Psh! Of course not! If I'm squeamish about blood as is, how the hell am I gonna kill someone?"

"You could be faking it."

"Yeah, and I also faked throwing up as well…"

"Could have…anything_ is_ possible now these days…"

"Yeah, well, I'm not a good actor."

"You're _also_ not a good listener since you have yet to replace your badge photo like I told you to."

Cloud grinned when the officer looked down at his badge before staring at him with wide eyes before narrowing them and folding his arms up like how a child would. Since the officer appeared to be temperamental, he was bound to let something slip eventually. All he needed was a _little _more pushing…

_**To Be Continued...**_


	6. Chapter 6

"What do you want Tseng?"

"Why Gast, is that how you say hello to an old co-worker and friend?"

"You are no friend of mine and you know that… I have completely severed myself from ShinRa and his employees. Now I ask again, what do you want?"

"I need you to do a court hearing for Evil-"

"No… I refuse…"

"Why! He's killing all of us and you, me, and the president are the only ones left who know about what took place in that courtroom! How the hell does Sephiroth know, I have no idea, but I'm not about to let myself get killed and I suggest you do the same by helping me get him the death penalty! If he doesn't die by a lethal injection, he will die by a bullet from my gun! The choice is yours…"

"If he kills us, then that is our redemption…"

"Bullshit! Yes or no Gast? Don't make me get your wife and daughter involved…"

"You would-"

"You honestly _don't_ believe I won't?"

"…He will kill us in the end…"

"He may get you, but he won't touch me. I know who his weakness is… How do you think I got the information that I need to get him a re-trial?"

"A man like that has no weaknesses…"

"Oh really? Then how do you think they caught him?"

"He let himself get caught willingly, of course!"

"He could've killed a certain blond Deputy-Commissioner and got away but he didn't…"

"So you're going to use his life to protect your own?"

"Damn right. So, what's the headline of the newspaper going to read tomorrow? 'The Re-Trial of a Lifetime' or 'The World's Worst Serial Killer of the Century Found Dead in His Cell'?"

"…The hearing will be at 3."

"Well, it's been a pleasure doing business with you."

Gast watched as Tseng walked out of his door and looked at the boy dressed in all black with a gun in his hand slowly come out of the dark corner of his office.

"Now as I was saying before I was interrupted, Evil Eye has a deal he would like to offer you since you were kind enough to let him have some freedoms that Tseng wasn't going to give him."

"And how do I know this deal is full-proof?"

"You want to take that gamble?"

"…What is it?"

"He'll let you, your wife, and your daughter live if you give the current address of where President ShinRa is hiding at. Do not say you don't know when we both know that you know. If you say no, I'll shoot you in your left eye. If you say yes and the address is correct, I'll give you what you need to get your family out of this country and no one will know where you went. If say yes and give me a false address, I'll tell the other apprentice to put two bullet holes in your wife and daughter's head and I'll leave you alive to suffer the guilt."

"…What's in the envelope?"

"Three plane tickets to Costa Del Sol registered to the three fake I.D. cards I made. And yes they'll get you through to anywhere you want to go, not even the feds will know that the cards are fake… Evil Eye also extended his gratitude enough to let you have a bank account with ten million in it for you and your family to live off of comfortably… So, what do you say? You give me the address to where the President is and I'll make sure you disappear away from ShinRa for good and you keep your life. My apprentices and I will take care of the court hearing tomorrow. Do we have a deal?"

"…Yes…"

"Excellent. Now if you could write it down for me…"

* * *

"You see him, Loz?"

"Yeah, I got him…I just need his son to move out of the way and I'll have a clear shot… Was it really that easy to get the address from him?"

"Of course it was. Why do you think master wanted me to go and retrieve it? I have a way of talking to others."

"Hold that thought!"

The sound of glass breaking and screams were heard.

"Damn…"

"The nail gun seems to work better than I thought it would, nice shot Loz. Now let's get out of here. We only have one target left…" Yazoo said as started the car and drove way from the small house as the police and ambulance were arriving.

* * *

Sephiroth stared at the smirking man standing a few feet away from him.

"You have a hearing tomorrow at 3."

Sephiroth chuckled as he slowly clapped, completely amused when he saw the smirk on Tseng's face fade away.

"Aww! Did you expect for me to be upset? What judge in Midgar wouldn't put me back on trial...How stupid of you to think that it wouldn't work. After all, you are a sleazy prosecutor, you should've known better."

Sephiroth smirked at Tseng's frustration, but stopped when he heard the man start laughing.

"Oh, but I do know better… I know exactly how to control you."

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes.

"Go on…"

"I know why you're killed the people that you've killed. It's because of a certain court case that took place 14 years ago…the only problem is, your little blond won't find the file that holds the truth that only you, Judge Gast, and I know of."

"And _why_ won't he find it?"

"Because I have it...such a file of that magnitude couldn't be kept with the other court cases."

"He'll find it. Cloud's smarter than you think he is."

"And_ that_ will be his undoing. How…_unfortunate_ it would be for you to read your beloved newspaper that he was killed in a terrible accident… I'm pretty sure you know where I'm getting at."

Sephiroth smirked.

"You want me to call off my apprentices in exchange for Cloud's safety, no?"

"Ah, so you do know my language…"

"And what happens if I say no?"

"You'll find out in your newspaper tomorrow morning. I'll hand it to you myself."

"Then I'll be seeing you tomorrow morning then."

Sephiroth grinned as Tseng's eyes widened in shock.

"W-What!"

"You honestly think that I will fall for such a stupid bribe as that? Think about it Tseng and learn to speak _my_ language. There's no point in calling them off since you are the _last_ one left to be eliminated, so why stop now?"

Tseng narrowed his eyes before turning away from Sephiroth.

"Oh, and Tseng?"

He stopped walking.

"Should anything happen to Cloud, I will see to it that your death is a slow and painful one…"

"How can _you_ see to anything? It's not like you're going to be the one to kill me."

"As I told you yesterday, you'll _never_ know…"

As the door closed, Sephiroth narrowed his eyes. This completely changes things. He didn't know that Tseng had caught on this soon… His three apprentices would be killed if they went after him on their own and he knew how Yazoo was when it comes to the last task. He liked to go ahead and get it over and done with early and there was no way he could get in contact with Kadaj since he wanted to be there when Yazoo and Loz go after him. They have no idea that Tseng is aware that they are coming for him. Not to mention, Tseng had even gone to the extent of bringing Cloud into this as a shield. And to make matters worse, Tseng has the file he needed Cloud to find. Sephiroth sighed as his grip on the black iron bars tightened. He needed to get to his apprentices and Cloud…tonight. He began to look around the large room to see if there was another way for him to escape without having to use the main exit. The windows were too far up to use and they had bars on them.

"Oh well, guess I'm going to have to do this the hard way…" Sephiroth said to himself as he noticed that the sun was beginning to set and saw that the guards were becoming tired and smirked.

"Maybe this won't be as hard as I thought…"

* * *

"_Hello?"_

"Wait for Cloud to discover that the file is missing before nabbing him and bringing him to me. Make sure no one is around you before you do it…"

"_Yes sir, but what about the apprentices?"_

"I already set up traps for the little rats. They will no longer be a concern to anyone anymore...this is no longer about the murders and making sure that Sephiroth dies while I watch. This is about making sure this court case never sees the light of day, understand?"

"_Yes, sir."_

"Good, then don't disappoint me…"

Tseng hung up the phone and smirked. Sephiroth will not be having the last laugh…

* * *

"_**Sephiroth?"**_

"_**What is it Cloud?"**_

_**He waited for Sephiroth to return to his hospital room before telling the nurse that he was ready to go home. Ever since he woke up after he talked to Sephiroth before taking a nap, Sephiroth has been acting…strange. He wouldn't talk to him or make fun of him like how he used to. It was almost like he was a completely different person…and that made him upset to no end. As he waited for Sephiroth to come back like he said he would, he'd been debating in his head on whether or not he should tell him something. He decided not to since he feared how it would affect their weird friendship, but he couldn't refuse to hold it in anymore as they were walking down the hallway. He was thankful that it was nighttime and that there wasn't anyone walking in the same hallway as them.**_

"_**I…I want to thank you for everything you've done for me…you have no idea how much I appreciate it…"**_

"_**They shouldn't mean all that much to you…"**_

_**Cloud's eyes widened in hurt and in shock. He didn't know what made Sephiroth become so cold, but he wasn't about to back down from him.**_

"_**Why shouldn't it? You saved me from getting hit by a truck, a bullet, and now you saved me from dying from the virus! Those things matter to me! You saved me from dying three times!"**_

"_**Well then, I guess if you need saving a fourth time I won't be there."**_

_**Cloud glared at Sephiroth before summoning all of the strength he could before pushing Sephiroth against the wall, which surprised both him and Sephiroth that he could do it in his weak condition.**_

"_**Cloud, what are you-"**_

"_**I…I don't know what turned you into the bastard that you're acting like right now, but go back to the Sephiroth that you used to be…"**_

_**Sephiroth narrowed his eyes.**_

"_**I'm the same Sephiroth that you met when Lazard brought you to my desk."**_

_**Cloud shook his head before smiling.**_

"_**No…you're lying to me… The way you've been acting recently…it's…it's not like how the Sephiroth that I fell in love with acts…"**_

_**Sephiroth's eyes widened as Cloud leaned up and pressed his lips against his in a searing kiss.**_

* * *

Cloud sighed in frustration as he glared at the annoying brunette in front of him. For the past hours, he had gotten nowhere since the brunette insisted on staring back at him while still switching his position in his chair.

"Stop fidgeting!" Cloud yelled as he snapped the pen in his hand in half as the brunette jumped out of his seat.

"You know what, forget it! Just go!"

As the brunette scrambled out of his office, Zack walked in with a serious expression on his.

"What?" Cloud asked.

"A 911 call came from the son of President ShinRa. Apparently, his father was shot in his left eye with a nail gun."

"Take someone with you to investigate the scene and be on the lookout for a number or letter."

Zack raised a brow.

"You're not coming?"

"No. While I was trying to interview the officer that Sephiroth talks to, Vincent and Tifa came back with information about the diamond and the rest of the numbers and letters for those who didn't have them so I'm going to read what they've given me."

"Alright. I'll see who's available."

Cloud nodded as he pulled out the documents that Vincent and Tifa found.

He knew that time must've have flown past him since Zack came through his door and gave him the lettering that he found carved on a tree near ShinRa's house and went to post his picture on the bulletin board. Not too long after Zack came in, Cid and Yuffie walked in with piles of folders in their hands. When he decided to take a break, he noticed that it was going on 11:30p.m. He knew that his officers probably went home already and decided to continue reading, since he was almost finished. Once he finished reading, a frown came across his face. Apparently, all of them quit ShinRa at the same time on the same day and none of the files gave a reason as to why…which was odd… And as for the diamond, Reeve found the large diamond when he was visiting North Corel, which inspired him to open up his own jewelry shop. What confused him was when the article said that it was named the Genesis Diamond after the tragedy that happened in the courtroom on the trial he served jury duty for four weeks ago. Though the article was 14 years old, Reeve's file didn't mention him serving jury duty and he couldn't remember any tragic incidents that happened in a courtroom…except for… Cloud's eyes widened as he quickly took his computer off of its screensaver and typed in tragic trials and the name Genesis. He narrowed his eyes when only one search result came back and it was from a newspaper that stopped running 14 years ago. He clicked on the link and began to read the article out loud to himself.

"'What is Justice?' the last article written by Anonymous. I found myself asking this question when I attended the funeral of the 17 year-old boy, Genesis Rhapsodos, who was gunned down during his trail for repeatedly screaming, "Death awaits those who have framed me and killed my friend!" while standing on top of the table in front of him. What confuses me and those who attended the poor boy's funeral is why a gun was pulled on him in the first place. Those who witnessed the incident said that the boy had no weapon in his hands, and yet the young officer Lazard was quick to pull out his gun and fire at the juvenile who was facing terrorist charges. No one knows how Lazard missed the boy's leg and ended up shooting him in his left eye, but it is known that the boy was crying…one eye tears of sorrow and the other eye tears of blood. What still is…_disturbing _to me is that those witnesses that have told me and other reporters bits and pieces of what happened in the court room all ended up dying in _freak_ accidents along with the reporters and journalists that tried to let the public know what happened in that tragic courtroom. There is not one video, picture, or article around that have any information about the trial and its proceedings…except for this one. I know for a fact that there is no such thing as 'freak accidents' such as those where _all_ reporters, journalists, witnesses, and cameramen all die and share the same link of being ready to report about the trial. Someone doesn't want what happened in the courtroom to be released to the public… Why? I can only imagine, but do know this whoever is brave to read my last article because I know that they are coming after me as I write this: _No one _is who they say they are when it comes to those who are involved with the ShinRa Company…"

Cloud sat back in his chair and stared at the computer.

"This…doesn't make any sense… What does Sephiroth have to do with this?" Cloud asked himself as he scrolled down to look at the pictures the journalist posted along with his article. Cloud couldn't help but smile sadly. The boy was very pretty with his auburn red hair and bright blue eyes as he smiled for what appeared to be a school photo. The next one was a black and white picture of the paramedics carrying out a dead body with a blood stain over where the left eye would be. The last picture was of the boy's casket with what Cloud guessed to be his family and friends around it. He squinted to see who the people were and stopped when his eyes widened at the sight of seeing a boy wearing sunshades with silver hair tucked away in the background of the photo.

"It can't be…"

Cloud quickly printed out the article and the picture and grabbed it out of his printer and stared at the boy in the picture in horror.

"Sephiroth…?"

As Cloud heard his door shut, he didn't have time to react to a cloth being placed over his nose and mouth has he tried to lash out at his attacker. He felt some satisfaction when he heard his attacker's nose break before succumbing to unconsciousness.

* * *

Sephiroth looked at the clock that struck 12 and yawned before stretching.

"Time to go to work…" He said to himself before clearing his throat.

"Excuse me. Could two of you please walk me to the restroom, please?" Sephiroth said with a smirk on his face as he was the officers groan over who would take him. The two that he was expecting for them to choose told him to place his hands together as he put on his handcuffs the other one held a taser close to him as a just in case factor. After they led him to the one stall bathroom, Sephiroth was able to pull down his pants some before being able to use the bathroom while he slowly lifted his hands up to his mouth to stick the handcuff key he held under his tongue inside one of the slots while not trying to make the officers become suspicious. After he got one hand free, he lowered his hands back down and used his free hand to free his other one.

"Officers, I'm finished." Sephiroth said with a smirk on his face. When he saw that one went to flush the urinal, Sephiroth quickly flicked one handcuff open and shoved the rigid part in the officer's neck and grabbed the taser out of the officer's pocket and shoved it down the other one's throat before turning it on.

"All within five minutes…I must say that I'm getting better at killing people…or people are getting better at being stupid…" Sephiroth said to himself as he searched their pockets for a phone. Smirking when he found one, he dialed Kadaj's number, secretly hoping that they weren't at Tseng's house already.

"_Dude, Tony! Do you realize what time it is! I know I'm cute and all, but-"_

"Do_ I_ sound like Tony to you?"

"_What the- master! How did you- How are you-"_

"_Master, it's Yazoo speaking. We are almost at Tseng's-"_

"Turn around, right now. I'll be the one taking care of Tseng tonight. The plan has changed."

"_Alright, but may I ask why the plan has changed?"_

"Tseng knew that you three would be arriving at his home tonight. He planned a trap for you three to get yourselves killed in."

"_Thank you for the heads up. I take it that you have escaped?"_

"Almost. What you three need to do now is go to Midgar station."

"_Is this about Cloud, master?"_

"Yes it is. Tseng has threatened that he would harm him and I have no doubts that he went ahead and kidnapped him."

"_So what do you need us to do?"_

"Survey the station. If everything appears fine, then I need you three to pick up a _certain_ file from the hideout and bring it over to Tseng's house when I say so. If not, then you do what you need to then go and get the file."

"_You mean…"_

"Yes…It's time…everything ends tonight…"

"_I'll see to it that this is completed master."_

"Good." Sephiroth said as he hung up the phone and looked down at the bodies by his feet with a grin on his face.

"Now…which uniform has less blood on it?"

* * *

Zack woke up from his sleep with a headache. Something didn't feel right…and he had a bad feeling that it had something to do with Cloud… Zack shook his head. He should've stayed there with him at the station to keep him company… Deciding to go and see if Cloud needed some help with reading the documents, Zack slipped on some clothes, and his weapons for just in case purposes, and headed out of his apartment to drive to the station. When he arrived there, he wasn't surprised to see that the lights were still on since Cloud didn't like being here all by himself without all of the lights being on.

"Cloud, do you need some help?" Zack asked out loud. Zack narrowed his eyes when he heard the scuffling of shoes and pulled out his gun before rounding the corner and facing three identical boys that looked like Sephiroth, who also had guns in their hands. Zack widened his eyes as his grip on his gun became loose. The shorter one smirked at him.

"I believe...it's _you_ who's in need of help…"

_**To Be Continued…**_

* * *

**A/N: If anyone is confused about what's going on, feel free to contact me to clear up the fuzzies. We only have four chapters left and if you think you know how it's going to end, trust me when I say that you are probably going to be way off since there's more plot twisting to come… And who's the one who attacked Cloud? The first one who guesses correctly will win a story!**

**R&R**

**-**_**KTK**_


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews, favorites, and alerts! I'm very pleased with the positive response I got! ^^ For those of you who guessed about the kidnapper, read to find out who it was…**

**Disclaimer: In first chap.**

**Warning(s): … :)**

* * *

Zack continued to glare at the three teens dressed in all black as they continued to stare at him, waiting for anyone to make the wrong move. The more he looked at them, the more he was reminded of… Zack's eyes widened a bit before he frowned.

"You three are Sephiroth's apprentices…"

"Yeah, and?" Kadaj said with annoyance. They were going to be late if they kept this staring contest up.

"And? What the fuck are you three doing here?"

"We _were_ inspecting the place to find out if Cloud had all of the information he needed, but _you _dropped in on us…" Yazoo said nonchalantly.

"What did you do with Cloud? Why isn't he here?"

Loz scoffed.

"If we were the ones that kidnapped him, we wouldn't be here right now…"

Zack's eyes widened. Cloud was kidnapped? That couldn't be true...

"You're lying! Cloud wouldn't let himself get kidnapped!"

"I don't think anyone would _let_ themselves get kidnapped, hence the reason why it's _called_ kidnapping..." Kadaj said sarcastically.

"Shut up! Tell me what's going on right now before I shoot all three of you!" Zack said in anger.

"You really want to know? Tell you what, since Cloud has all of the information he needs except for one thing, we'll let you read all of the information that's on his desk and computer and you let us go since we have important business to attend to. Though I would like to shoot you in your head, you need to remain alive as a direct order from Sephiroth." Yazoo said. Zack furrowed his brows in confusion. He and Sephiroth didn't get along all that great since he felt as though Sephiroth was trying to take Cloud away from him, but why Sephiroth needed him to remain alive was a mystery…

"Why does he need me alive?"

Zack frowned when Yazoo smirked.

"If you let us go and read the information on Cloud's desk, you'll find out why."

"Bullshit! I need to find Cloud after I put you three in a cell!"

"Look, pal, you're wasting your time and ours! You won't find him without knowing what's really going on and we are not staying in a goddamn cell, so step aside and let us go or you won't find Cloud at all!" Kadaj yelled. Zack narrowed his eyes before letting out a frustrated sigh and letting his gun down, making the triplets do the same.

"I must be crazy…"

"Eh, if you think about it, we are _all_ crazy. It's those who declare themselves sane are the craziest ones of all." Yazoo said before motioning for his brothers to leave. When Yazoo passed Zack, he decided to make things easier for him by saying something that will definitely help him figure it out.

"Not everyone is who they say they are…_including_ Cloud…"

Zack's eyes widened as he turned to ask what he meant by that, only to find that he had left. After Yazoo got in the driver's seat of their car, he told Kadaj to tell Sephiroth that they would be late getting the file and that he might want to hurry up with the mission because he had a feeling that Zack may beat him to Tseng…

* * *

Cloud slowly woke up and groaned at the bright light shining in his eyes. Clearing is eyes of the blurriness, he felt himself beginning to panic when he realized that he wasn't in his office anymore and was in what appeared to be a basement. Memories of what happened before he blacked out came rushing back to him, making his panic turned to anger. Whoever decided to kidnap him will have hell to pay.

"Who the _fuck_ kidnapped me!" Cloud yelled trying to see who was near him. He could feel eyes watching him and it made shivers run up his spine.

"Well, you woke up earlier than expected…"

Cloud narrowed his eyes and turned his head to face the man leaning against the basement wall.

"So, who put you up to this _Vincent_?"

"Tseng. He was supposed to be the one to brief you about why you're here, but he had to leave because of a very important matter."

"Like…?"

"Sephiroth has escaped from prison…"

Cloud's eyes widened in fear and tried to stand up, but found that he couldn't move his legs or his arms. He looked down and saw that his hands and legs were tied to the chair he was sitting in…and that his clothes were missing. Cloud glared at Vincent.

"Well, what kind of information was he supposed to tell me that required all of this!"

"You're being held here as bait…Tseng knows that you're Sephiroth's only weakness and plans on using you as a…negotiating pawn."

Cloud tightened his fists in anger. He was _no one's_ puppet…especially not Tseng's…

"What is he trying to negotiate with Sephiroth that will only be a waste of time in the end?"

"His life. If Sephiroth lets him live and call off his apprentices, he'll let you live. If he doesn't then…"

"Why is Sephiroth after him?"

Vincent sighed before walking over to Cloud and stood in front of him.

"Do you remember that article you read on the computer before printing out that picture?"

"Yes…what about it?"

"Tseng and all of the people that Sephiroth and his apprentices killed were involved in the trial."

Cloud's eyes widened in shock.

"How…?"

"Well, from what he told me, he and the ex-employees of ShinRa framed the teenager for conspiring to steal top secret information from ShinRa and second degree murder for killing his friend in order to get the 500 billion dollar insurance policy on the ShinRa building since it was about to expire. He said that it was an accident for both of them to die, but it got the desired results…"

Cloud frowned in disgust. Though he never did like Tseng because the man reminded him of a snake, his information just made him despise him… How could he say that about two innocent teenagers getting killed? But, something isn't adding up still…how did Sephiroth fit in with all of this?

"I know what you're thinking…I thought you would've put it together when you saw Sephiroth in the picture you printed out…"

Cloud rolled his eyes.

"Maybe I would've if a certain person didn't feel like using chloroform on me!"

Vincent shook his head.

"It was part of the protocol."

"_Fuck_ the protocol! Tell me how Sephiroth is involved!"

"They were Sephiroth's friends…"

Cloud gasped in shock.

"Tseng says he remembers seeing a silver-haired boy wearing shades sitting behind Genesis every day during the trial. He also remembers the way he felt the silver-haired boy glared at him through his shades with blood splattered all over his face after the boy had been shot…"

"So, what you're telling me is that Sephiroth was out for revenge?"

"That's what we believe."

"Well…I don't."

Vincent stared at him with shock in his eyes, but Cloud didn't care.

"In my eyes, they deserve to die. Adults who frame innocent children and kill reporters and witnesses who wanted to tell what happened in trial deserve to be killed by Sephiroth!"

Vincent glared at him.

"So, you're telling me that my father, the only living relative that took care of m since I was young, deserved to die because some_ freak _didn't learn how to let things go?"

Cloud glared right back at him.

"Yes. I take it that's the real reason why you agreed to help Tseng. I'm not as stupid or slow as you think I am. Tseng's trying to kill Sephiroth and you want to be there to see him die. Am I right?"

Vincent frowned at Cloud's smirk.

"Yes."

"Hn. And_ you_ have the nerve to say that he's the freak that didn't let things go…"

"Shut up!" Vincent yelled as he backhanded Cloud so hard that he was seeing stars. He hadn't been struck in the face like that since he was 13 by the older boys in the orphanage that were trying to rape him…

"You have no right to say what you just said! My father was a saint compared to Sephiroth!"

Cloud chuckled weakly while wincing at the pain of his cheek throbbing, already knowing that there would be a nice size bruise on his face.

"Sorry, but I don't have any sympathy about you losing your only family member since I never had any. Sephiroth probably would have never been what he is today if it wasn't for your father, Tseng, and all of the others that are responsible for killing his friends… Wouldn't you be the same way?"

Vincent snorted.

"I knew you wouldn't see it my way…and I know_ why_ you never will…"

"What do you-?"

"I read Scarlet's file before passing it to you."

Cloud stopped wincing and stared at Vincent emotionlessly.

"…What did you find?"

"She was never married…"

"People get secretly married all of the time…"

Vincent let out a laugh that made Cloud smirk inwardly.

"You really are full of shit… I knew Scarlet before she died. She bragged about everything in her life and if she was married to Sephiroth, then it would've made front page news."

"So…what are you insinuating?" Cloud said with a smirk as Vincent glared at him.

"You know damn well what I'm insinuating…_Mrs. Crescent_."

Cloud let out an evil laugh that made shivers run up Vincent's spine as he tried not to let his fear show.

"I prefer to be called Mrs. Sephiroth, but that will do just fine since it is Sephiroth's real last name. So, tell me where the file is so that I can move on to the next stage in my husband's mission if you don't mind."

"What was your role in all of this?"

Cloud smiled.

"Answer my question first and I'll answer yours."

"Fine, Tseng's retrieving it from his office in the prison and is going to destroy it before Sephiroth can find him."

"My role was very simple…take care of the kids while my husband was away. Why do you think I never invited anyone to my apartment?"

Vincent's eyes widened a bit. The more he thought about it, no one, not even Zack was invited inside of Cloud's apartment, except for Sephiroth. Vincent narrowed his eyes. Cloud knew who the apprentices were and when they would attack because he was housing them. It also explains why no one was able to find any evidence about them since Cloud had the power to make sure no one ever saw any of it. Vincent came out of his thoughts when he heard the blond laughing.

"Tseng _really_ is stupid…"

"What the fuck do you mean?"

"Did he really think that Sephiroth didn't think he'd pull something like that? I mean honestly, that's just insulting to my husband's intelligence…"

"I don't understand what you're getting at."

Cloud sighed.

"_I _have the original file at my apartment. What Tseng is getting rid of is the copy..."

Vincent stared at Cloud in shock…he had to be lying…there's no way he could've found it…

"Oh yes there is. I am the Deputy-Commissioner and one of the apprentices I trained was disguised as an officer in the prison… All I needed to do was demand the officer to get a file for me from Tseng's office… Needless to say, I trained one _very_ good apprentice…" Cloud said while grinning at the stunned Vincent. He looked at the basement door behind Vincent and his eyes widened before he smiled.

"Shouldn't you be making a phone call to Tseng?"

Vincent growled before pulling out his cell phone. He cursed when it read that he didn't have service and was about to open up the basement door when it forcefully opened, slamming him down on the ground, completely knocked out. Cloud sighed lovingly at the sight of his husband in a bloody officer uniform.

* * *

"Hmm…it seems as though I hit a_ very _large fly with the door…oh well." Sephiroth said while grinning down at Vincent before placing a foot on his ribs.

"I wonder if it's still alive…" Sephiroth said as he began to move the body underneath him back and forth with his foot while chuckling.

"Seph, I know that you_ love_ to play with your victims before you kill them, but we don't have time for this. The kids are still out there and I think that they may be in trouble since they haven't called you yet." Cloud said with annoyance. Sephiroth grinned at his annoyed wife.

"Always ruining my fun as always… Don't worry about the boys. They'll be meeting us at the prison since they got a_ little_ side-tracked…" Sephiroth said as he stepped on Vincent while walking over to Cloud and kissed his wife. When Cloud made a noise of discomfort, he pulled back and raised a brow at him, before noticing the purplish mark on Cloud's cheek. Sephiroth pulled out his knife and cut the ropes away from Cloud's legs and hands and raised Cloud up out of the chair to inspect his face. Cloud couldn't help but smile at Sephiroth's tenderness as he lightly ran a finger over where the pain was beginning to disappear. He missed Sephiroth's touch for too long…eight years too long to be precise. The slight touch when he visited him at the prison wasn't enough... He winced when Sephiroth pressed too hard on the area. He looked up into the furious eyes of his husband and felt his heart swell with love for the only man that was willing to kill anyone that laid a hand on him.

"_Who_ did this to you?"

"It doesn't matter, you're about to kill him anyways…" Cloud said before pressing a kiss to Sephiroth's jaw. Sephiroth smirked.

"How would you like his death to be? The usual?"

"I don't care. All I know is that we have to get going and I have to find my clothes."

Cloud lightly blushed when Sephiroth moved back to stare at his body before grinning.

"Are you sure we _have_ to hurry?"

Cloud rolled his eyes before glaring at Sephiroth and pushed him out of the way and went upstairs to find his clothing as Sephiroth chuckled while disposing of Vincent. After Cloud found his clothes and some for Sephiroth to change into, they left Tseng's house and Cloud gasped in shock and happiness at what he saw in the driveway.

"You arrived here on that?"

Sephiroth smirked before kissing Cloud on the forehead.

"I figured that you might want to ride on it since you'll be the one killing Tseng."

Cloud smiled in happiness before getting on his motorcycle that he named Fenrir. He looked at Sephiroth expectantly for him to pass him the keys, but furrowed his brows when Sephiroth stared at him blankly.

"What's wrong, Seph?"

"Do you _really _expect for me to ride in the back?"

Cloud rolled his eyes before getting off of his motorcycle as Sephiroth grinned before sitting on it then patted the leather seat behind him.

"Hurry up my darling wife. We have business to attend to…"

"Fuck you, Sephiroth."

"Don't worry. After this is all over and done with, I'll be_ ravishing_ you…" Sephiroth said with an evil smirk that made Cloud chuckle before getting onto his motorcycle and tighten his arms around Sephiroth's waist and kissed Sephiroth's neck before resting his head against Sephiroth's back as Sephiroth turned on the motorcycle and headed for the prison to finish off Tseng.

* * *

_**Cloud's vision became blurry with tears after the older boy delivered a punch to his face as his friends pinned him to the floor. He knew it was only a matter of time before they would get him without anyone else passing by. It was past bedtime at the orphanage and Cloud had to use the bathroom, but after he finished, he turned around to get a fist in his face and his head banged against the wall. As much as he wanted to scream for help, he knew that no one would come. Every time he tried to tell one of the people in charge that the older boy was trying to rape him, they brushed him off and went back to doing whatever it was that they were doing previously. They didn't care…they**_** never**_** cared… Cloud's tears ran faster down his face when one of other boy's ripped off his pants. He never tried to stop them because he knew it would only cause them to hit him some more. He didn't know why it was only him that this was happening to. Was it because no one else in the orphanage wanted to be his friend and that he was always alone? He didn't know and he didn't want to know… When Cloud felt the leader of the older group of boys position himself at his unprepared entrance, He closed his eyes, waiting for the immense pain that he was going to be receiving. Instead of the pain, he felt something wet land on his stomach and opened his eyes. His eyes widened at the sight of seeing the leader of the boy's mouth wide open with blood dripping from it with something shiny sticking out of his throat. He looked towards the other boys and saw that they were staring in horror at someone before quickly running out of the bathroom, not saying a word. A slight snapping noise was heard before the shiny thing in the leader's throat was removed and the older boy dropped down onto his stomach. Cloud stared in awe at the emotionless silver haired teen that was standing in font of him with a pair of bloody scissors in his hand. He knew of him, Sephiroth was his name…the 16 year-old was friends with two other boys here and didn't like to talk much…he had always wanted to talk to him, but he couldn't work up the courage to do it because he was afraid that he would be like the guy he just killed. Cloud moved the dead body off of him before standing in front of his savior. He already knew that the teen was much taller than he was, but just standing in front of him like this, he felt very small.**_

"_**Thank you…" Cloud said in a small voice. When he didn't hear anything in reply, he looked up into the emerald eyes of his savior. He didn't flinch when Sephiroth brought a hand to his face to touch the bruise on his cheek and frowned.**_

"_**He used to hit me everyday…every time he saw me... I don't know why though, do you?" Cloud asked, hoping to get something out of the silent silverette. When the teen still didn't say anything, Cloud sighed before turning away from him.**_

"_**Never again."**_

_**Cloud's eyes widened before looking back at the teen in confusion and in shock that he actually said something.**_

"_**What do you mean?"**_

"_**Never again will someone hit you like how the way he did…I'll make sure of it."**_

_**Cloud sighed sadly.**_

"_**The other boys…they'll get me when you're not around..."**_

_**Cloud's eyes widened when he heard chuckling and stared at the smiling Sephiroth and blushed. He was very handsome when he smiled…he always thought so when he'd see him smiling at the redhead he was always with. He blushed even more when the teen leaned down to whisper into his ear.**_

"_**Then it sounds like I'm going to be around you for a long time then, if that's okay with you…" the silverette said before moving his face away from his to stare at him. Cloud couldn't help but smile. He was an idiot if he didn't say yes to the beautiful teen's offer. Deciding to show him more than tell him, Cloud nervously unbuttoned his shirt and threw it on the floor before stepping back, until he reached the wall and slid down it, and spread his legs in an invitation that he was hoping the silverette would take. He looked up and saw that the silverette's eyes had widened some before he dropped the bloody scissors on the floor. Cloud lightly smiled when he made his way over to him and sat in between his spread legs. Cloud sighed happily when the teen placed kisses all over his neck. He frowned when the teen stopped and placed his face a few centimeters from him his.**_

"_**If we do this, you will be mine forever…" the teen said seriously. Cloud stared into the emerald eyes of his savior before smiling shyly.**_

"…_**Do you promise to love and protect me forever?"**_

_**Cloud felt his heart flutter when the teen smiled at him again before replying.**_

"_**Yes…I'll take good care of you…"**_

"_**Then I'm yours…" Cloud said happily before teen gave him his first, real kiss.**_

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

**A/N: I'm surprised that no one guessed that it was Vincent! I mean, you guys were in the right area when it came to guessing (Turks), but I thought I made it obvious since they killed Vincent's father, but no worries! Every one gets a cookie! Hahaha! I wonder how many of you knew or had a feeling that Cloud was the real wife of Sephiroth… I bet AznFlyingKitty is**_** very**_** happy that Sephiroth wasn't really married to Scarlet! XD I loved your review about her btw!**

**R&R**

**-**_**KTK**_


	8. Chapter 8

Tseng quickly turned on his shredder and grinned as he began to shred the case file that Sephiroth needed. When he arrived at the prison, he quickly disposed of all of the other officers and guards in his prison. He didn't need any witnesses for what was going to happen. He knew that Sephiroth would be here for him any minutes now, especially since he had Cloud locked away in his basement with Vincent guarding him. Though he knew Vincent well enough to consider him as a brother, he was the perfect pawn to sacrifice to Sephiroth since he was assisting him in his doings because of his father. Oh well, it's not like he'll care anytime soon. After all of the papers were shredded, he sat in his chair behind his desk and smirked when he heard his door open.

"You're too late Sephiroth. I've just finished getting rid of the evidence that you needed to expose to the public. You're finished, Evil Eye. All I have to do know is make a phone call and your little blond fried is as good as dead. So tell me, how much does Cloud mean to you?"

"As far as I know, I mean the world to him."

Tseng's eyes widened and he turned his chair around to face the smirking blond Deputy-Commissioner.

"How are you-?"

"One must never underestimate my husband, but I'm very sure you already knew that since you place someone else in charge of killing me."

Tseng made a move to grab his gun, but stopped when Cloud aimed his at his face.

"Must you make this harder than what it has to be? I have other things to deal with tonight so let's make this short."

Tseng grinned before he began to laugh.

"Then why haven't you shot me yet? I already told you that the file is destroyed."

"I'm not after the file…"

"Then what is it that you're after?"

Cloud smirked before removing the safety from his gun.

"Your left eye…"

Cloud quickly shot Tseng in both of his shoulders as he tried to get up to pull out his gun. Tseng stared at his arms in shock as he was beginning to lose feeling in both of his arms and looked up at the advancing blond.

"Snake venom is truly amazing I must say…especially when you can use it to make bullets that will paralyze your target."

"Why didn't you just kill me you son of a bitch!" Tseng yelled. Cloud rolled his eyes before sitting on Tseng's desk.

"Killing you first before taking your left eye is so boring! Where's the fun in that? My husband gets to play around with his victims before he gets to kill them so why can't I?"

"Why do you keep calling Sephiroth your husband? Why are you here!"

"I call Sephiroth my husband because we've been married since I was fifteen. As for why I'm here, he allowed me to kill you instead as he waits for our children to deliver us the real file that I had an officer of yours take and replace with the copy you just shredded. If you would have taken the time to look at them instead of killing off every officer and guard in the prison, you would've noticed that…I'm also here because you are the last piece that needs to be disposed of to have justice to Genesis and Angeal's wrongful death because of a get rich quick scheme… Sephiroth told me how you looked at him when he saw you at the courtroom after the paramedics came in to remove Genesis' body… It was then and there that he made his plan to bring down those who've wronged Genesis and Angeal and I agreed to help him in any way I can…"

"So what you're saying is that everything about you is a lie?"

"Yep! Sephiroth and I working for the police was a way to gain access to all of the information that we needed… Anything else you'd like to know before you die?" Cloud said as he removed a jar halfway filled with ice, a pair of gloves, and a scalpel from inside of his jacket.

"Yeah…how do you plan to explain all of this to Zack?"

"I don't…" Cloud said as he jumped off of the desk, removed his black gloves and put on the latex ones before grabbing the scalpel and moving to stand behind Tseng.

"An eye for an eye… A life for a life…" Cloud whispered into Tseng's ear before moving back to stand over Tseng and moved his head back to look down at the emotionless brown eyes that glared at him.

"Now, this is going to hurt. Feel free to scream if you want to…" Cloud said with a smile as he moved the scalpel closer to his prize…

* * *

**"_Sephiroth, this is beautiful! Where'd you get this?"_**

**"_I got it at the jewelry store…"_**

**_Cloud gave Sephiroth a quick kiss on his lips before settling down next to his lover and resting his head on Sephiroth's shoulder as Sephiroth continued to view the night sky as Cloud looked at the 1 karat diamond ring on his finger. Even though it was past bedtime hours in the orphanage, Sephiroth and Cloud snuck out onto the roof to view the stars before going to bed. Minutes passed by before Sephiroth started to speak again._**

**"_They are releasing me, Genesis, and Angeal tomorrow morning…"_**

**_Cloud gasped in shock before turning to face Sephiroth. He knew that the people in charge release the children they are in charge of when they turn 18, but he didn't think that they would be releasing them this soon. They all just finished turning 18 three days ago._**

**"_Wh-what! Why! You have no where to go Seph! You can't leave!"_**

**"_I found my mother… She lives in a nice size house in Midgar. I already asked her if it was okay for us to stay with her and she agreed… There are a lot of job opportunities in Midgar so making money won't be a problem."_**

**"_But…what about us? I'm only 15; they won't release me yet…"_**

**_Cloud felt tears fall down his cheeks when Sephiroth didn't respond to him. So this was why he was being so quiet these past days…_**

**"_You're breaking up with me, aren't you…?"_**

**_Sephiroth turned his head to face him before raising a hand up to wipe the tears off of his face._**

**"_Do you know what type of ring that is on your finger?"_**

**_Cloud furrowed his brows._**

**"_Isn't it a regular ring?"_**

**"_No…it's an engagement ring…"_**

**_Cloud stared at Sephiroth in shock._**

**"_Are you…?"_**

**"_The legal age to get married in Midgar is 15…"_**

**_Cloud quickly wrapped his arms around Sephiroth's neck as he cried into his shoulder as Sephiroth held him close to his body with a small smile on his face. Sephiroth had just made him the happiest boy on the planet…_**

**"_Like I said, you're mine forever Cloud… I will never leave you behind…"_**

**_Cloud looked down into his fiancé's emerald eyes._**

**"_I love you Seph…"_**

**"_And I you Cloud…"_**

**_They kissed until they heard someone clapping. They turned to see Genesis slowly clapping before rolling his eyes as Angeal smiled._**

**"_I'm happy for you two and all, but can we leave now? The next train to Midgar leaves at 9a.m and that will be too late to try and sneak Cloud out of this hellhole."_**

**_Cloud looked down at Sephiroth._**

**"_We're leaving tonight?"_**

**_Sephiroth nodded before sitting up, making Cloud slide down into his lap._**

**"_I already went ahead and packed your stuff for you, Cloud. That way we don't waste time getting to the train station." Angeal said while motioning to the bag over his shoulder._**

**"_Thanks." Cloud happily as Sephiroth stood up with him in his arms, making him giggle as Genesis huffed in annoyance._**

**"_I believe it's best to carry you, that way you don't accidentally trip the alarm system again…" Sephiroth said with a grin on his face. Cloud pouted._**

**"_It happened one time! And I would not have done it if Genesis hadn't have pushed me!" Cloud said as he pointed to the smirking Genesis. Angeal and Sephiroth laughed before Sephiroth kissed Cloud's forehead._**

**"_Let's go home, Cloud…"_**

**_Cloud blushed before snuggling into Sephiroth's neck as they began to walk to the edge of the building and jump off of the ledge of the small building and towards the train station._**

* * *

Zack furrowed his brows in confusion after he finished reading the article on the computer.

"What the hell is going on…?"

He was confused about everything that he read. What does the article about reporters and witnesses getting killed over a court case have to do with those who were killed by Sephiroth? And why did that apprentice say that about Cloud? Cloud was always the quiet, shy, and polite type, even before he met Sephiroth. Granted, he did think that Cloud was odd when he never invited him over to his apartment to have a drink or something and when he'd invited him to hang out with him after work he'd always say that he was busy, but he just assumed that Cloud liked the peaceful life and liked to be by himself. There was nothing wrong with that…was there? Zack looked back at the computer before clicking off of the web and walking towards the basement of the department to look up Cloud's file. Though he knew that he could get fired for ding this, there was something telling him to do it…that he _needed_ to do it… After picking the lock to the room that held the files, he walked in and looked in the cabinet that held the last names that began with S. He found Cloud's file and began to read it and narrowed his eyes when he discovered that the file only went up to when he was in the orphanage at 15 years old then jumped to when he graduated the police academy at 21 years old. Why was there a 6 year gap? It doesn't even show when Cloud entered the academy the same year he did… Something wasn't right… He flinched when his cell phone began to ring and he placed the file back in the place he found it before he answered it. His eyes widened at what the dying man on the phone was saying and he quickly told the man on the phone that he'd be at the prison as fast as he could be. As he ran to his car, he cursed at his stupidity at letting the apprentices escape. No wonder they were out, their fucking master was out of his cell. When he got halfway to the prison, he called Cid to tell him to call the paramedics to meet him at the prison before hanging up and began to focus on what he was going to do if he saw Sephiroth. As much as he knew that Sephiroth was needed for information, he was not afraid to shoot him if he needed to…

* * *

"Is he on his way?" Sephiroth asked with a grin on his face.

"Yep." Yazoo said as he hung up his cell phone before resting against their car parked outside of the prison. After they delivered the file to Sephiroth, he ordered for Yazoo to call Zack's cell to report that he had escaped from his cell in the voice of a dying person and Sephiroth was not surprised that Yazoo did it so well because Cloud had trained the boys very well when he was in prison.

"Good, now the three of you better get going. Cloud and I will meet you at the train station and if we don't show up by 6, then go on to Costa del Sol without us."

"But, if you two don't show, that means that you two-"

"Yes it does, Loz…"

"Oh come on! Let us stay and help! We can-"

"No Kadaj. You three have done your part and your mother and I are very proud of you three… You've surpassed our expectations and for that, we thank you for all that we have done and that's why you three cannot stay here and must leave now before the cops get to you all…"

Kadaj sighed as his two brothers nodded and got into their car and started it.

"We _better_ see you both in two hours…" Kadaj said in a serious tone before getting into the passenger seat. Sephiroth watched as his boys drove off and shook his head.

"Always a mama's boy…" Sephiroth said before chuckling and walking back into the prison. When he arrived in Tseng's office, he grinned at the sight of his wife placing Tseng's eye in the jar while humming a tune that was very familiar to him.

"I haven't heard you hum that since you were sitting in the rocking chair and feeding the kids when they were babies…"

Cloud looked up and smiled when he saw Sephiroth leaning against the door frame.

"Did they get here all right?"

"Mhm… They wanted to stay but I sent them off to the train station."

"Good, how much time do we have?"

"Not long. Zack's on his way and he'll be here any-"

Sephiroth turned around when he heard a door bust open.

"Shit… Leave everything and let's go!" Sephiroth ordered. Cloud nodded before taking off the latex gloves and putting on his black gloves and grabbed the jar before running out of the room behind Sephiroth.

"Fuck! How do you get to the roof!" Sephiroth yelled as they kept going down hallways that were dead ends.

"There should be a stairwell that leads to the roof on the floor beneath this one. We should be able to make it before he gets to us." Cloud said. Sephiroth nodded before grabbing Cloud's hand and quickly leading them down the stairs to the next floor to find the stairwell. When they found the stair well, Sephiroth and Cloud quickly ran towards it before a gun shot fired.

* * *

Zack stared in shock at the sight of Cloud and Sephiroth staring back at him from down the hall. What the hell was Cloud doing with Sephiroth?

"Cloud!" Zack yelled in confusion. His yell made Sephiroth blink before pulling Cloud towards the door that led to the roof.

"No, stop! Cloud come back!" Zack yelled as he ran after them. As he ran through the door and looked up the stairwell, he cursed when he realized how far Cloud and Sephiroth were and began to run up the long stairwell while shooting at them, hoping to at least hit Sephiroth in order to slow them down. He felt his heart clench in pain when he heard Cloud yelp and Sephiroth curse. He thought that it would've slowed them down, but instead it made them run even faster up the stairs as he noticed that Sephiroth was carrying Cloud. He cursed when they opened up the door to the roof and closed it. As soon as he opened the door he yelled in pain as a bullet went through his left shoulder. Zack glared at Sephiroth, who was holding the gun while having his other arm wrapped around Cloud's waist. He looked at Cloud and saw that he was leaning against Sephiroth while holding his bleeding arm that was holding a folder. Zack inwardly sighed in relief that he didn't do too much damage to Cloud.

"Damn, I missed…" Sephiroth said with narrowed eyes.

"Drop the gun Fair."

"No fucking way! What the hell is going on here! Why are there so many people that are dead! Why did your apprentices stop by at the station and tell me to read the files on your desk and on the computer and say that not everyone is who they say they are including Cloud! What did he mean by that! Answer me right now!" Zack demanded while aiming his gun at Sephiroth's head. Sephiroth grinned before taking the folder out of Cloud's hand and tossing it at Zack's feet.

"All you need to know is in the folder. Now drop the gun and slide it over to me so Cloud and I can leave…"

"You aren't going anywhere with Cloud held hostage!"

"Who said he was held hostage? Is it so hard to believe that Cloud is with me…_willingly_?" Sephiroth said with a smirk before kissing Cloud's forehead while staring at Zack, who was becoming angrier by the second.

"Cloud would never go anywhere with his rapist you sick on of a-"

"Sephiroth _never_ raped me! My husband would never rape me!" Cloud yelled in anger. Zack stared at Cloud in shock, so much so that he dropped his gun. He couldn't believe what he just heard…

"Husband…? Cloud, I don't understand… Are you…you…?"

"Yes. I'm married, Zack. I've been married to Sephiroth since I was 15."

"That's why you wouldn't…"

Cloud nodded.

"I couldn't betray Sephiroth… Even though he told me I could, I didn't have the strength to do it."

"So you're involved with all of this aren't you? You knew the whole time."

"Yeah, I did. I'm just as guilty as Sephiroth and our children are."

Zack's eyes widened in shock. It all made sense now…except for one thing.

"I…I read your file… Why is there a 6 year gap from when you ran away from the orphanage to when you graduated from the police academy?"

Cloud sighed as Sephiroth tightened his hold on him before he began to speak. He knew that Sephiroth didn't like for him to talk about it, but it needed to be said.

"The 6 year gap in my record is because I stayed at our home taking care of the kids before all of this happened… When we arrived here in Midgar when I was 15 and Sephiroth was 18, we moved in with a woman who was taking care of a pregnant fugitive that escaped from Hojo's lab. The pregnant fugitive was Sephiroth's older sister and she died while giving birth to the triplets due to stress and exhaustion. Since the babies had silver hair and green eyes like Seph, we decided that we would care for them as if they were our sons. When Sephiroth came home angry about what had happened at the trial that I'm sure you read about on the computer, I knew that I had to help him in anyway I could."

"That still doesn't explain how you got into the police academy!"

"Anyone can falsify their record, Zack… It's only the ones who lack the skill of doing so that get caught."

Zack stared with eyes full of hurt and anger at the only man he'd ever had feelings for as Cloud stared at him with an emotionless demeanor.

"What's in this for you? Why would you agree to assist Sephiroth in killing innocent people?"

Zack's eyes widened when he heard Cloud and Sephiroth laugh.

"The people that we killed were _never_ innocent… All of them, except for one, were the reason why our two good friends are dead. What I get out of all of this is the satisfaction that Genesis and Angeal can finally rest in peace knowing that the ones who killed them are dead as well… I agreed because Sephiroth is my husband and I will follow him through the pits of Hell with my hand in his and a smile on my face… I love him more than you can ever imagine, Zack, and I know he feels the same as me, he just won't say it out loud like I do." Cloud said with a smile on his face. Zack was about to say something, but he found himself not able to speak as his eyelids felt heavy and everything around him became blurry.

"What…did…you…?"

"I believe the poison in your system is telling you to get some rest now, Fair. When you wake up, do make sure you read that file and let everyone around the world know what has happened here in Midgar. This is why I wanted you to be left alive… I want_ you_ to be the one who tells our story. Oh and please, do make it sound _phenomenal_…"

Zack tried to glare at the smirking Sephiroth, but all he was able to do was drop to the ground as his vision went black…

* * *

Two teenage boys and one teenage girl looked around to see if they saw any sign of their parents as the time was approaching 6a.m. The shortest of the trio paced around frantically as the other two sat on the bench, inwardly hiding their worry. The speaker announced that the train to Costa del Sol was leaving in ten minutes and the taller two of the trio grabbed their luggage and motioned for the shorter one that it was time to go. Much to the shortest one's refusal, he reluctantly followed after his brother and sister with tears in his eyes. He turned around one last time and gasped in happiness as he saw his smiling mother with long brown hair with a beanie and a scarf around her neck with her arm in a sling and his short black haired smirking father next to her. The short teen ran towards them and hugged his mother tightly, until she winced in pain and his father lightly smacked him in the head for hurting his mother. His brother and sister rushed up to their parents to hug them as well before they all boarded the train and sat next to each other with the parents sitting in the back of the train and the children a seat in front of them. The mother rested her head against her husband before sighing.

"Finally we get to go home… I hated staying at that apartment. I had no space to myself whatsoever!"

"Hey! We weren't that bad!" The shortest son said as he turned to glare at his smirking mother.

"Correction, Li and I were not that bad… You on the other hand Kyo, made it a living hell…" The girl said nonchalantly as her parents and brother laughed.

"Eh, shut up Yoko. That's why you're a girl." Kyo said while pouting. Yoko shrugged before settling against the window.

"Mom, can I sleep back there with you two? I have no room to get comfortable and Li and Yoko are hogging up all of the space!"

"Tch. Mama's boy…" Li muttered, making their father grin and Kyo to pout even more. Their mother rolled her eyes before answering her pouting teenager.

"No, Kyo. You have plenty of room up there since you are sitting in the middle. I'm pretty sure your brother and sister won't mind if you stretch out against them like the last time."

Kyo rolled his eyes before pushing Yoko even closer to the window while almost kicking Li out of his chair as he moved his feet off of the ground and sighed contently with a grin on his face while ignoring his sister and brother's grunts and glares. Their mother shook her head before she began talking to her husband as they heard the soft snores of their children.

"…Did you read the newspaper yet, love?"

"Nope. The new one didn't arrive yet when I checked, but I'll make sure to pick one up when the train makes a pit stop. I'm sure that the entire paper will be about us. All I know is that they better have put a good picture of_ me_ on the front page..." Her husband said with a smile on his face.

The woman rolled her eyes before sighing in annoyance as she flicked her long hair out of her face.

"Having some issues, dear?" Her husband smirked.

"Shut up! I can't stand having to wear long hair like this! It gets on my nerves! I don't know how it doesn't for you when yours was down to your knees!"

Her husband laughed.

"Well, I don't know how you liked your hair short. I miss the extra weight that my hair provided…"

"I'll trade you my wig for your hair dye."

"No can do. We'll look like ourselves if we did…"

"But I won't spike it like I usually do!"

"Clo- I mean Aisu, your hair is naturally spiky. It won't work hunny…"

"I know, Se- Katou… You, getting used to calling each other different names is going to be hard. We can't even get them correctly now!" Cloud said as he and Sephiroth laughed softly so that they don't wake up the boys.

"At least the kid's new names are easier…especially since Yazoo made himself a girl."

"True…"

"How's your arm?"

"It's feeling okay, thanks to my hubby patching it up for me…" Cloud said as he leaned up to press his lips against Sephiroth's neck before nipping at it. Sephiroth narrowed his eyes at Cloud, who smirked in response.

"Don't _even _start…you know damn well that there's not a bathroom on this train that is big enough for us to have mommy and daddy time in… You're going to have to wait until we get home."

"But I've been waiting for 8 years since you left… Certainly you feel the same way as I do… Besides, we can find a way to make the bathroom big enough. All you have to do is left me up onto the sink and-"

Cloud didn't finish what he was about to say because Sephiroth quickly grabbed Cloud's good arm and led them to the farthest bathroom that didn't have a lot of people near it. Needless to say, Cloud got what he'd been craving for since Sephiroth left 8 years ago…

_**To Be Continued…**_

* * *

**A/N: The next chapter is basically the ending and the tenth chapter is the epilogue. *tears!***

**R&R**

**-**_**KTK**_


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: HELLO, HELLO MY **_**WONDERFUL**_** READERS! My apologies for the**_** long**_** wait! School has been a killer, but hey, after Tuesday I go on break so… ^o^ more than likely after Tuesday, you'll be seeing more updates from me! Yay! And as a gift for the long wait, I have decided to include some bonus material! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: You should know where to find it by now… :)**

**Warning(s): Zack tells a story…**

* * *

"Hey, how are you feeling? The doctors said that you would be out of it for a few more hours because of the bullet, but-"

"I'm feeling alright… Did the doctors say what kind of bullet it was?"

"They said it was a bullet loaded with snake venom…Chinese Cobra venom to be exact… Since they only shot you once and the bullet only contained about a fourth of what a real one would inject into a human, you were able to live…"

"… I was only able to live because they wanted me to…"

Zack turned away from the frowning Tifa. The memories of what happened on the roof were still fresh in his head and he wasn't ready to talk about that just yet. He knew she would ask…it was only a matter of time when she would.

"There was a folder on the roof... I need to read it."

He didn't hear Tifa say anything when she laid the folder on his lap.

"Don't worry, none of us read it for the six days you were knocked out. We figured that it was meant for you to read anyway. I'll go ahead and give you your space. Just give me a call if you need anything."

Zack nodded at Tifa as she lightly smiled before getting up out of her chair and walked out of his hospital room. Zack sighed before he opened up the folder and gasped in shock at the first thing he saw. He felt his eyes begin to water as he lifted up the previously folded picture and looked at how happy young Cloud and Sephiroth were as they kissed at what appeared to be their wedding, judging by Cloud in a white kimono and Sephiroth in a black tuxedo with a smiling brunette standing next to Sephiroth wearing a black tuxedo as well and an annoyed redhead standing next to Cloud wearing a red kimono. Zack didn't stop the tears from rolling down his face as he continued to stare at the only thing that told him that the one he loved was happy with someone else and how he could never have him.

* * *

_**Zack laid Cloud down on his bed and began to kiss the moaning blond's neck. This was the first time he'd seen the blond act like this and he wasn't about to waste his only chance at showing Cloud that they were meant to be more than just friends. Even though he knew that they were drunk, this was too good for him to not to try. As he continued to kiss Cloud's neck, he zipped down his sweater and slowly worked his way towards the strawberry nubs that were begging to be sucked on. He swirled his tongue around the hardening bud before taking it into his mouth and sharply sucking on it and pulled at it with his teeth, making Cloud gasp and moan while arching himself into him. Cloud looked so beautiful to Zack right now with his swollen lips form kissing slightly open and gasping for breath with a blush on his cheeks. No…he wasn't going to regret having Cloud tonight, even if he would be upset with him in the morning. He loved him too much to resist him… After giving the other nub the same treatment, he licked his way down to Cloud's navel before sticking is tongue in and out of it and trailed down lower to the stiff member that was poking him on his chin. This was as far as he'd gone before and by the looks of Cloud, they weren't about to stop. As soon as he swirled his tongue on the tip of Cloud's erection before swallowing him whole, he quickly changed his mind when he heard Cloud shout out the name he knew would cross his lips eventually.**_

"_**Ahh! Sephiroth!"**_

_**Zack stopped and looked up at Cloud. Cloud stared back at him in confusion before his eyes widened and all of the lust that Cloud had before in his eyes disappeared; leaving guarded blue eyes that were narrowed.**_

"_**Cloud, I'm-"**_

"_**It's time for me to go."**_

"_**No, wait! I underst-"**_

"_**What do you understand! You understand nothing!"**_

"_**I understand that you used to be in love with Sephiroth before you found out that he was a monster… I know that you needed time to let go of him, but Cloud, all of that happened three years ago and I've given you plenty of time to forget about him… I lo-"**_

"_**Don't say it…"**_

"_**But-"**_

"_**Just don't! You… You can't love me… You're only wasting your time and end up hurting yourself in the end. Just do me a favor and find someone else."**_

_**Zack couldn't do anything but stare at Cloud as he watched him get dressed before walking towards the room door.**_

"_**I don't get it… How can you let a **_**married**_** serial killer still have a control on your heart after all of the things he's done for so long? Can't you see that you were used as a way for him to appear normal? He never loved you Cloud… A person wouldn't do that to the one they love…"**_

"…_**You'll never understand him the way that I did…"**_

_**Zack lightly laughed before shaking his head.**_

"_**Sometimes…I wonder if it's because you may be just as crazy as he is…"**_

"_**Who knows, maybe I am…and **_**that's**_** why we're meant for each other."**_

_**Zack's eyes widened as his room door shut.**_

* * *

_**Three Weeks Later...**_

Zack walked up to the podium that was in the middle of the stage while ignoring the thousands of cameras flashing. After he finished recovering from his wound and re-read the folder full of information, he decided to hold an international press conference at City Hall, that way he can say what he needed to say at one time and never have to tell this story again… He turned to look at his friends and officers that stood behind him and lightly smiled before turning around and cleared his throat before beginning what he knew would be said all around the world.

"Good afternoon. I speak to you today not as an informant nor as a Commissioner of the Midgar Police Department, I speak as a survivor of one of the worst serial killers that the entire world has seen and heard of in the past century. I was purposefully left alive because it only takes one person to tell a story and they chose me as the person to do it… And so, I asked for you all to be here today for me to tell you that story since this will be my first and last time doing so…"

Zack sighed.

"Sephiroth, also known as Evil Eye, was a famous detective of Midgar, the only one of his kind that shocked the world when we discovered that he was the culprit behind the murders that took place nine years ago. No one knew of Sephiroth's past or his reasoning behind killing those that he did…until now that is. Sephiroth grew up in an orphanage in Nibelheim from when he was a baby up until he was 18 where he, his two best friends, Genesis Rhapsodos and Angeal Hewely, and the love of his life ran away from the orphanage and hopped on a train to Midgar to find jobs and to meet up with Sephiroth's mother. The love of his life that was with him was none other than Cloud Strife, who was placed in the orphanage with him when he was 10 due to his only family passing away in a terrible car accident. Sephiroth and Cloud first met when Cloud was about to be raped by a gang of older teenagers in the bathroom and Sephiroth saved Cloud from such a tragedy by killing the leader of the gang with a pair of scissors and later killed the rest of the gang without the directors of the orphanage knowing. The night they ran away was also the night when Sephiroth proposed to Cloud since Cloud was 15 at the time and was unable to leave. They arrived at a nice size home in Midgar, which was the same house that Sephiroth used up until we caught him, and met up with Sephiroth's mother and his pregnant sister he never heard of until then. Jenova, Sephiroth's sister, was kidnapped and used for an illegal cloning experiment conducted by ex-Professor Hojo and his colleagues and was able to escape the night when a custodian left the door unlocked… Unfortunately two weeks later, she died giving birth to the triplets that Cloud and Sephiroth would raise as their own children in her honor and married on her birthday using Sephiroth's mother's last name, Crescent, as their surname.

Things began to go well...until the day when Genesis and Angeal ended up at ShinRa Electric Company searching for a part time job since they wanted to start school. A representative of ShinRa fooled them into believing that they could get a job that working night-shifts and told them to return around 8p.m that night for an interview. Little did the teens know that they would become apart of the greatest scam to take place in the history of Midgar. The building's 500 billion dollar insurance policy was about to expire so the President decided to set up two random people for theft of secretive information and chose to use the two teenagers as the thieves in order to get the insurance policy. His plan succeeded, except for one thing. He wanted them both alive and the security ended up killing Angeal with a bullet through his chest. He also didn't know that Genesis suffered from severe panic attacks that were caused by stress and a high state of fear and made him belligerent and spoke curses amongst others. The teen went into a panic attack when he realized that the representative who told them when to come for the job was the same person who was ShinRa's lawyer, Tseng. So it came as no shock to Sephiroth, who was sitting behind his best friend in the court room on the day of the verdict when Judge Gast declared him guilty of murdering Angeal in the second degree and conspiring to steal information from ShinRa and was to serve the rest of his life in prison. The verdict sent Genesis into his panic attack that proved to be his downfall.

Because the boy was shouting a statement of death and him being framed, Lazard, the police officer at the time, was ordered to restrain him since he began to kick the other officers and his lawyer away from him while standing on the table. Usually in situations like that, the officer is supposed to shoot the person in a place where a doctor will be able to heal them. Lazard was aiming for Genesis' left leg but because Tseng bumped his arm, Lazard ended up shooting the teen in his left eye, instantly killing the framed boy. To wrap up this story, the workers: Tseng, Lazard, Heidigger, Scarlet, Palmer, Verdot, Grimoire, Hojo, Hollander, and Veld, received a nice chunk of that 500 billion dollars and all retired from ShinRa at the same time as a cover up. No one has had any information of what really took place at the trial because the ex-President of ShinRa ordered for snipers to kill off anyone who had any information about the trial and what they saw at it. He was able to kill them all, except for one 18 year old boy and friend Genesis…a grand mistake that would come back to haunt them all. Sephiroth, Cloud, and their three sons were easily able to infiltrate the system with the help of his mother, who used to work for the FBI and CIA. It was with her intelligence and skill that was able to make Sephiroth and Cloud fulfill Genesis' last statement, "Death awaits those who have framed me and killed my friend."

I send my condolences out to those families that they have affected and I will not honor the death of our fallen officer Vincent Valentine for his role in Tseng's plan to kill Sephiroth and Cloud as a means to prevent his own death nor will I honor Tseng or anyone else that has died by their hands and I recommend for you all to do the same, despite what you may or may not believe. I do not care how any of you take my next statement for this is what I truly believe. Justice…has been served. And with that, I declare that neither I nor my team will pursue a search to find them because I know for a fact that they will not cause harm to others as long as they don't cause harm to them and also because…they won't be found unless they want you to find them. Thus concludes the story of Evil Eye. May you all live safe and healthy lives and know that they are out there waiting for others to make the same mistake as ShinRa did… Thank you."

* * *

Zack smiled and shook the hands of those that wanted to have a few words with him as he tried to leave. He sighed after the heavy set man finally walked off after he refused for umpteen times about publishing a book. When he heard someone giggle, he looked straight ahead and his eyes widened some at the long haired brunette female in front of him. To say she was gorgeous was an understatement…but he knew that she was way out of his league judging by the large cream sunhat that matched her cream dress suit and the sun glasses and scarf around her neck that screamed that she had money. He wouldn't be surprised if she had a smug husband around somewhere…

"It was a lovely, yet sad speech you gave today. I'm glad I made my husband and I fly out here to attend it." The woman said with a smile on her face. Zack gave a smile of his own. There was no harm in flirting with the woman since her husband appeared not to be around.

"Well, I had to make it sound especially touching towards the ladies."

"Oh I'm so sure… You look like the ladies man type. Always willing to say whatever is needed in order to get a name and a telephone number."

"Is it working?"

The woman laughed again.

"Of course not! I'm happily married thank you very much."

"Yeah, it seems that a lot of people are these days…" Zack said with a snort before rolling his eyes, making the woman chuckle.

"Oh don't be so put down. I'm sure you'll find the one who's meant for you soon…"

"I hope so. I thought I found the one before…but…"

"Oh. I see…"

"I'm pretty sure you don't."

"Betcha I do!"

"Oh yeah? Try me!"

"You fell in love with a married person which would explain your bitterness when I said that I was married."

Zack's eyes widened as the woman started laughing again.

"Damn…you're good."

"Trust me when I say that I know how to read people because of my husband."

"Oh I'm sure you can. I bet he doesn't get away with anything!"

"Eh, he tries. Like right now, I'm very sure right now that he's looking at other women while thinking that I won't know that he's doing so…"

Zack narrowed his eyes.

"Is he cheating on you?"

"No, no, no! He's not that stupid. He knows that he's my property."

"As you are mine…"

Zack's eyes widened when a taller man with short black hair wearing sun glasses came up behind the woman and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Ah. It's about time you joined me in congratulating this fine Commissioner on his speech. I wonder what tool you soo long to get here… Could it have been that big breasted_ blonde_ that was standing in front of us?" The woman said with hinted anger in her tone, almost daring for her husband to say something wrong.

"Now why would I-"

"Like I thought… Commissioner, this is my asshole of a husband that I've been talking about. Tou this is the Commissioner that knows how to treat a lady."

Zack couldn't stop himself from laughing when the husband frowned at her as she smirked.

"Indeed… It was nice meeting you, Commissioner, but Ai and I have a plane to catch and must be on our way…"

"Of course…now that you're_ jealous_…"

"Ai…" The husband said in a warning voice and the woman laughed.

"Oh alright…" She said before she leaned up to kiss her husband's cheek and her husband smirked before leading her away from him and towards a crowd of people.

"Farewell, Commissioner! Best of luck to you!" Zack heard the laughing woman shout over her shoulder. He turned away before he felt his heart drop and his eyes widen. Was it him or when she said that last part she sounded exactly like… He turned around to try and find her again, but all he saw was a sea of people…

"Cloud…?"

"Commissioner Fair."

Zack turned around to the person he was sure would hold some malice against him for how he felt about those Sephiroth and his family killed. What did surprise him was the smile the man had on his face.

"I'm sure that you know who I am so there's no need for introductions. I'm going to go ahead and cut to the chase: I want you to find them…_all _of them."

Zack narrowed his eyes at the former President of ShinRa's son.

"I already said that I-"

"I know what you said and I still came to you for assistance, no matter how disrespectful I believe your statement to be…_especially_ since I know that you planned on searching for them without anyone else knowing."

Zack's eyes widened at the shorter grinning male. How he knew what he had planned was beyond him.

"It was quite easy to tell by how you announced that you weren't going to. All I'm offering is a very simple deal. You can say yes or no."

"…What is it?"

"I want revenge against the man who killed my father. You help me bring down Sephiroth; I'll allow you to keep Cloud. It won't take much to say that Cloud was a cop undercover…"

"But what about their boys?"

"Certainly you don't want murderous teenagers running about now do you? What good would letting them live do?"

"But…"

"No buts. Yes Cloud has grown to care for those teenagers like he is their mother, but they have to face the same fate as their "father." Although I said that it's a yes or no, you may _want_ to say yes if you value your reputation. I don't believe that you want to deal with death threats from other countries… I assure you though that if you say yes, we'll keep it quiet."

"…"

"Don't you want him back?"

"…"

"My apologies, I thought that you-"

"Fine…but I hope you know that we're writing our death sentences if we fuck up."

Rufus ShinRa smiled as Zack inwardly sighed. He didn't know what he got himself into. If the woman he was talking to was Cloud then…he appeared to be happy, but…

"Don't worry…failure is not an option. Now, do you have an idea of where they went?"

* * *

Sephiroth glared at the still smiling Cloud as they were flying back to Costa del Sol first class. He had been glaring at Cloud ever since he basically dragged Cloud away from the laughing Commissioner…

"Must you make a scene like that?"

"What scene, hunny? All I said was the truth." Cloud said as he took off the sun hat and smiled as his glaring husband.

"I wasn't looking at her! All she wanted to know was whether or not there were any good apartments in the city since she was thinking about moving there!"

"Psh! All she was interested in was getting your apartment number and thinking of moving in with you since you look like you have money… I don't mind if you talk to other men and women, I just don't like when you_ look_ at them…"

"I _know_ that you're not thinking that I would leave you."

"…It's a possibility… We haven't been together for so long and-"

Sephiroth leaned over and gave Cloud a long and searing kiss that left Cloud dazed.

"Don't you ever think that I would cheat on you or ever think that I would leave and replace you. _You_are all I need in my life."

Cloud lightly smiled.

"…You mean it?"

"Do you need me to _show_ that I mean it? Because I will…in the tiny little bathroom that's not too far away from our seats…"

Cloud blushed before turning his head to look out of the window as Sephiroth lightly chuckled. That could wait until they got home and out of the costumes…

**The End?**

* * *

**A/N: One more chapter left! :) **

**R&R**

**-**_**KTK**_


	10. Omake

**A/N: Now here's the bonus material that I mentioned in the last chapter! I decided to give you guys what **_**really **_**happened in those flashbacks when Sephiroth and Cloud were cops since I know a few of my readers wanted to go back and re-read them ^^. I even put them in chronological order for y'all so that you get the whole picture! Do enjoy!**

* * *

"So, have you enjoyed the tour so far?"

"Yes I have. Thank you for still giving me one when you said that are too busy to give me one, sir."

"It's not that big of a deal. Come, I'll show you to your partner. He should be here by now."

Cloud happily followed after Commissioner Lazard with a smile on his face, even though he was inwardly smirking. This was his first day as a detective and to say that he was excited was an understatement since he was now able to help out Sephiroth. When Lazard opened the door to where the other detectives and officers were, he wasn't surprised to see a lot of people running around. Sephiroth had already killed two people and the reporters and the citizens wanted answers.

"Ah, there he is."

When Lazard pointed his partner out, Cloud couldn't help but gasp in shock and blush at the sight of his husband. Sephiroth could always make him blush with just a side glance from him...not to mention that he looked good wearing the tight short-sleeved white shirt. When they stopped in front of his desk, he noticed that Sephiroth didn't even look up to acknowledge their presence, but he could tell that he knew that they were there. Good, it's time to put all the hard work Sephiroth trained him for to use.

"Detective Sephiroth, this is your new partner Cloud Strife. He just transferred here from the police academy and he'll be of good use to you on the case that you're working on."

Cloud held his breath as he saw Sephiroth glance up at him before turning back to his computer. Brushing off the coldness of the glance, he decided to speak up.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I hope that-"

"Chocobohead."

Cloud raised a brow in confusion at what his husband said while still looking at the computer. Even though he knew that they were supposed to give the appearance of not getting along well on their first meeting, he hated when Sephiroth called him that when they were home.

"Excuse me?"

"You head looks like a chocobo's. You have the hair, hair color and eyes like one. Does that mean you are a birdbrain as well?"

Cloud gasped before glaring at the smirking man who still chose to look at his computer screen rather than at them. Sephiroth was being an ass…and he wasn't playing around. Two can play at this game…

"Well, I rather be a birdbrain than a complete jackass towards someone you just met and don't even have the balls enough to look at them while you insult them."

Cloud could feel Lazard staring at him in bewilderment, but he could care less. He and Sephiroth had spats like this on a daily basis and he inwardly grinned when Sephiroth's eyes widened some before turning to face the computer.

"My apologies. I didn't mean to ruffle your feathers already. I'll make sure I have a nice bowl of bird feed ready for you before I say something to you. Is that okay?" Sephiroth said with a big grin on his face as Cloud glared as his face turned red.

"You asshole! I'm not a chocobo!" Cloud yelled, attracting the attention of the other workers at the station.

"Hmm…could've fooled me… You have the temper of one as well. I take it that no one has broken you in yet. I'll gladly have the honor of doing so, that is if you don't mind…" Sephiroth said with a smile before winking at him. Cloud furrowed his brows before he blush a deep shade of red on his cheeks in realization to what Sephiroth meant, making Sephiroth lightly laugh. Sephiroth stopped laughing when Lazard cleared his throat.

"Alright, Sephiroth. That's enough. You've had your fun. Now here's your first assignment together…"

After Lazard left to go and retrieve the file for them to review before leaving, Cloud looked at Sephiroth with a small smile on his face.

"Was that alright?"

"Love, you did better than what I'd thought you do…" Sephiroth said with a grin on his face.

* * *

"So, Sephiroth…you have a wife correct?"

"Yes. What about her?"

"Oh, nothing. I just wanted to know what you were getting her for her birthday…since it will be here soon…" Cloud said as he took a swig of his beer with a smile on his face. He and Sephiroth decided to call it a night and leave the children with their grandmother to go to the birthday party that the rest of the officers threw for Sephiroth at the station. Sephiroth was not a people person, even on his birthday, and Cloud wasn't surprised they ended up sitting at his desk and not mingling with the others. Needless to say, Cloud felt that they just should've gone home so he could give grandma a break…but at the same time he didn't want Sephiroth to go home to Scarlet… Though he knew that she was a cover-up, it still hurt for him to know that Sephiroth had to sleep with her…

"Nothing at all…"

Cloud couldn't help but chuckle.

"But what about that huge diamond ring she showed you at the jewelry shop?"

"It's going to stay exactly where it is, chocobohead."

Cloud sighed in irritation as Sephiroth smirked.

"You're being an ass."

"And she's being expensive and spoiled."

"No she's not! She always wanted a bigger diamond ring and you promised to get her one!"

"Hmm… I must stop telling lies to my wife then…"

"Asshole! Why don't you go and spend your birthday with that chick since you can buy that bitch bigger diamonds!"

"I didn't know that you were trying to get rid of me..."

Cloud's eyes widened as he saw Sephiroth grab his coat before he got out of his chair.

"Wait!" Cloud said as he grabbed his arm.

"I didn't mean that! I'm just upset that the kids and I don't get to see you as much… I want you to spend your birthday with me…I always do…" Cloud said as he felt himself blush. When he looked up at his husband, he cursed inwardly at the shit-eating grin he saw on Sephiroth's face.

"If I felt like being around a chocobo, I would've been at the chocobo ranch instead of here."

Cloud growled before punching Sephiroth in his chest as Sephiroth laughed at his antics.

"Stop calling me that! Just because I look like one doesn't make me one! If that was the case, everyone would assume that you were a grandfather because of your hair!"

"At least I'm a sexy grandpa."

"Psh!"

"You know that you agree with me…especially when I make you scream my name in the cop car."

Cloud blushed darker than before as Sephiroth laughed. There was no denying that…

"Must you say that out loud?"

"Who's really sober enough to listen?" Sephiroth said as Cloud rolled his eyes with a smile on his face. They sat in silence and chuckled as Zack got a piece of cake thrown at him by Tifa for grabbing her butt.

"Hey, Sephiroth?"

"Yes Cloud?"

"Happy birthday…" Cloud said with a smile.

"Thank you, love..."

* * *

When Cloud woke up, he noticed that he wasn't in his apartment and was in a hospital bed with two needles in his arm. He tried to remember the last thing tat he did, but all he could remember was that he and Sephiroth were walking up to his apartment before he felt himself become extremely hot. He knew he hadn't been feeling well for the past week, but-

"It doesn't hurt to say to me or Lazard that you need a day off because you aren't feeling well… I'd rather a sick chocobo stay home."

Cloud turned his head to stare at Sephiroth.

"You look like shit…"

"As do you, but at least I chose not to say anything."

Cloud weakly chuckled.

"What happened to me?"

"The doctor's say that you caught that new virus that has been going around for the past four months…Geostigma I believe…"

Cloud's eyes widened.

"But I only thought that could only be caught by children."

"Or it can be caught by idiot chocobos that don't dress properly when there's snow on the ground…it's just like a normal virus that happened to appear more in children because it got into the schools. Adults can get it just as easily."

"Do the children have it then? Have you checked them?"

"Of course I did. They received their vaccination shots yesterday."

"What! Without me? Are they okay? I have to leave and go check on them!"

"Cloud, they're fine. Besides, it's not like you can get up and leave anyway…"

Cloud rolled his eyes before trying to sit up, but stopped when he felt his entire body ache, which made Sephiroth chuckle.

"How did I get here by the way?"

"I carried you here."

Cloud stared at Sephiroth before laughing weakly.

"Please…"

"You wouldn't respond to me when you collapsed in the stairwell. I had no choice…"

Cloud stopped laughing and stared at Sephiroth in shock.

"…It was that bad?"

"Doctors said you would've died if they would have given you that shot ten minutes later. So yes, it was that bad."

Cloud noticed how Sephiroth's tone had gone from playful to serious.

"If you weren't feeling well Cloud you should've said something!"

"But I knew that you were stressing out over not being able to get Grimoire by himself and I wanted to help-"

"You can help me by not accidentally killing yourself over something as reckless as this. You have been in the hospital for nine days Cloud!"

"You stayed with me…?"

"Yes…"

"But who took care of the kids?"

"I did that as well… I do know how to multitask Cloud…"

Cloud eyes widened before he began to feel bad. He knew that he wasn't feeling well, but he could see that Sephiroth wasn't acting like his normal self and he began to worry that he might be taking their mission too personal so he put his sickness aside and focused on Sephiroth more so than himself. Even though he was feeling guilty, he was also feeling happy that Sephiroth still was able to make time for him and the children. Something caught Cloud's eye and he turned to the small table that was next to Sephiroth and smirked.

"Did you bring me flowers?"

Cloud smiled weakly at the pinkness of Sephiroth's cheeks before slowly moving his hand towards Sephiroth's and lightly grabbed it.

"Thank you…"

He giggled when Sephiroth raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"For what?"

"You carrying me here…the flowers…staying here with me…taking care of the kids…everything, really…" Cloud said as he yawned, feeling tired all over again. Sephiroth watched as Cloud fell asleep again and sighed. Cloud was becoming a huge distraction… All he was supposed to do was have a partner to play detective with, not someone that he missed terribly everyday when they weren't close to each other and the three little ones that always showed him whatever they drew or created with smiles on their faces. He looked down at the hand that was still holding onto his and frowned. This can't go on…if it does, then he mine as well kiss his goal goodbye, which he wasn't about to do. With that in mind, he looked down at his watch and knew that his target goes on a lunch break in half an hour, leaving him plenty of time to go home and shower before doing what he needed to do. As he stood up, the hand that was still attached to his tightened and he heard Cloud murmur something. Sephiroth smiled, but quickly wiped it off of his face. Ignoring the screaming part of his mind that told him not to do it, he leaned down and ran a hand through the smooth and golden spikes of blond hair before kissing Cloud's forehead.

"Sleep tight, chocobohead. I'll be back to visit you later…"

Sephiroth watched as Cloud lightly smiled and the grip on his hand loosened enough for him to remove his hand out of his and walk out of Cloud's room. Things were becoming too difficult…

* * *

"Sephiroth?"

"What is it Cloud?"

He waited for Sephiroth to return to his hospital room before telling the nurse that he was ready to go home. Ever since he woke up after he talked to Sephiroth before taking a nap, Sephiroth has been acting…strange. He wouldn't talk to him or make fun of him like how he used to. It was almost like he was a completely different person…and that made him upset. As he waited for Sephiroth to come back like he said he would, he'd been debating in his head on whether or not he should tell him something. He decided not to since he feared how it would affect their marriage, but he couldn't refuse to hold it in anymore as they were walking down the hallway. He was thankful that it was nighttime and that there wasn't anyone walking in the same hallway as them.

"It's okay if you really wanted to marry Scarlet…I'll understand since I know that she's been bothering you about it."

"Why should that matter to you?"

Cloud's eyes widened in hurt and in shock. He didn't know what made Sephiroth become so cold, but he wasn't about to back down from him.

"Why shouldn't it? What the fuck are trying to say Sephiroth! We've been married for 6 years and I'm allowing you to sleep with someone else while I take care of our three kids by myself as we finish this mission we started together! I'm trying to help you, asshole!"

"Well then, if you're that concerned about helping me, then you need to start pulling your weight since I'm doing all of the work."

Cloud glared at Sephiroth before summoning all of the strength he could before pushing Sephiroth against the wall, which surprised both him and Sephiroth that he could do it in his weak condition.

"Cloud, what are you-"

"I…I don't know what turned you into the bastard that you're acting like right now, but go back to the Sephiroth that you used to be…"

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes.

"I'm the same Sephiroth that you met when we were in the bathroom at the orphanage."

Cloud shook his head before smiling.

"No…you're lying to me… The way you've been acting recently…it's…it's not like how the Sephiroth that I fell in love with acts…"

Sephiroth's eyes widened as Cloud leaned up and pressed his lips against his in a searing kiss. He became happy when he felt his husband kiss him back with vigorous force. He still didn't know what was wrong with Sephiroth, but he knew that he had to be feeling much better...since he started to slide his hands up his shirt. Luckily he ended up slamming him on the wall next to the bathroom.

* * *

"Don't you want to stay here for the night? It-It's pretty late for you to go home now… You can say goodnight to the children before they fall asleep since they've been asking me repeatedly about you."

"I'm afraid that may complicate things since we both know that they would want me to stay with them for the rest of the day tomorrow and I know that Scarlet would grow suspicious…"

Cloud sighed as he stood in the door way of his apartment as he looked down at the floor, not wanting to see Sephiroth's face. He knew what he meant by saying that it would complicate things…

"I…I understand… It's my fault anyway… I shouldn't have said all of the things I said in the hospital. It was a mistake and I understand if you don't want to be with me anymore after all of this is said and done. I don't want what I said to distract us from getting Hojo… It's best that-"

Cloud stopped talking when he heard Sephiroth chuckle. He looked up to see that the emerald eyes he loved were full of amusement. He blushed when Sephiroth grabbed his left hand and kissed it.

"You make me wish that I never made Scarlet a substitute…"

Cloud couldn't help but stare at Sephiroth as he started grinning.

"Get some sleep chocobohead. We have a long day tomorrow…"

Cloud continued to stare as he watched Sephiroth turn to leave and walked towards the elevator. When Cloud closed and locked his front door, he couldn't stop the small smile that showed on his face.

* * *

Cloud stared in horror at the sight that lay before him.

"Sephiroth! What the hell are you still doing here! I already called Lazard and they'll be over here any minute now! You must leave right now before they find you!" He yelled at Sephiroth when he noticed that he still was in the room. What the hell was he thinking?

"I'm sorry love, but… I believe it's time for them to catch me…"

"No…what…what are you saying! You can't do that!" Cloud felt his legs give out as he hit the wall and slid down to a sitting position. Cloud felt tears run down his face as his husband slowly turned his head in his direction with a sad smile on his face before he pulled the knife out of the Hojo's left eye.

"I have to Cloud… I'm tired of living two lives where I can't have you and the children in one and in the other I'm losing you… This will be for the best. You'll see…"

"How the fuck will it be for the best! You'll be in prison and the children and I will be all alone! Did you think of them before you made this decision without consulting me! Did you think of how this would affect them!" Cloud yelled in anger. He couldn't believe that Sephiroth was pulling this…

"Of course I did… They need for you to become stronger and train them in order for them to help us. We need to take a break Cloud. They are becoming difficult to find because they may be on to what we're doing…"

Cloud still shook his head negatively after Sephiroth's explanations. He wouldn't accept this…

"Please…please…don't….please…" Cloud began to beg as he watched Sephiroth turned to face him and slowly made his way towards him. He begged even harder as Sephiroth wiped the blade with the handkerchief that was in his pocket as he continued to make his way towards him. Cloud couldn't even see him because his tears had blurred his vision.

"Cloud… I love you."

He began to cry even harder when he realized that Sephiroth was less than a foot away from him.

"Please…don't leave me…"

"I would never leave you Cloud… Just think of this as a business trip and I have to leave for a few years… I will come back to you and the children, there's no doubt about that."

"For how long?"

"…"

"Seph, how long are we talking here?"

"…About 8 years…to give the boys time to prepare themselves and for them to-" Sephiroth tried to explain, but all it made Cloud do was cry harder and start to scream at him.

"What the fuck am I supposed to do without you for 8 years! This is the longest you and I have somewhat been apart and this has only been 6 months and I'm missing you like crazy! You tell me what I'm supposed to do!"

Sephiroth kneeled down to his level and placed himself in between Cloud's slightly spread legs. He tried to get Cloud to look at him, but all Cloud did was turn away.

"Cloud…please look at me…"

"How can I do that when I know I'm losing you…"

"You're not losing me Cloud…you'll never lose me because I'm always with you…no matter what. That's why I placed this on your finger as a reminder." Sephiroth said as he look off Cloud's glove and lifted up his hand for Cloud to see the 4 karat diamond wedding ring he placed on his finger when they were younger. Cloud stared at the ring before looking up at Sephiroth with sadness in his eyes.

"I'll miss you…"

Sephiroth slightly smiled.

"And you already know why I'll miss you…"

Cloud lightly laughed before wiping his eyes and hugging Sephiroth closer to him.

"I know you'll be alright, Cloud… You have to believe in yourself… I leave the rest up to you and the boys. I know you all won't fail…" Sephiroth whispered into Cloud's ear before kissing his forehead as he sighed.

"They'll be here soon…"

"That they will…"

"Please…make love to me before they bust in… I need you to…" Cloud said as he moved his face to meet Sephiroth's. Sephiroth grinned.

"Now why would I refuse that?"

Cloud smiled as Sephiroth leaned in and kissed him and Cloud kissed him back, with all of what his heart could muster up at that moment…

**End.**

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**A/N: Don't worry! This doesn't count as the last chapter! This is just a gift for all of those who are a fan of this story!**

**With much loves!**

**_-KtK_**


	11. Epilogue

_**Five Months Later…**_

Sephiroth grinned as he read his magazine while sitting in his hammock. Even though he knew back in Midgar there was snow on the ground, it always intrigued him how Costa del Sol always had the same weather all year long: sunny, hot, and sometimes windy. Luckily for him and his family, their house was next to the beach and whatever wind blew off of the ocean kept the temperature around them cooler. He smiled when a familiar shadow appeared over him and looked up into the beautiful blue eyes he loved for many years.

"I take it that you came back from going shopping with ma?"

Cloud giggled.

"How can you tell?"

"The large cream floppy hat you're wearing still has the price tag on it…along with your white bathing suit wrap. You look sexy by the way…especially since I know you're not wearing anything underneath it…" Sephiroth said with a grin on his face as Cloud smirked.

"Let's just call this a pre-anniversary present…" Cloud said as he purposely swayed his hips around to the other side of Sephiroth before crawling onto the hammock with Sephiroth and laughing when they both almost fell out of it. Sephiroth wrapped his left arm around Cloud and rested his hand on his hip as Cloud sighed and placed his left hand on his chest.

"Where are the boys and ma?"

"Lucrecia is over at the neighbor's for her weekly meeting with the women of the neighborhood and the boys are on that field trip to Icicle Inn for snowboarding."

"And you didn't want to go to either?"

"No… I felt like spending my anniversary with my husband, you know, like_ all_ married couples do! Obviously you forgot that!" Cloud said while rolling his eyes at the chuckling Sephiroth.

"I didn't forget, love. In fact…"

Sephiroth carefully leaned over to grab the small box he placed underneath the hammock and gave it to Cloud. Cloud looked up at Sephiroth confusedly before going to open the box, which Sephiroth stopped him from doing so.

"Hold on a sec."

Sephiroth took Cloud's left hand and pulled off the 4 karat diamond ring and chucked it over towards the beach with Cloud staring at him in shock.

"Did you just… DID YOU JUST THROW MY WEDDING RING OUT THERE! OH MY GOD! WHY THE FUCK DID YOU DO THAT SEPHIROTH! NOW I HAVE TO GET IT BEFORE SOME FUCKER TAKES IT!" Cloud yelled as he tried to get out of the hammock, but Sephiroth stopped him.

"It's alright Cloud; you don't need that anymore…"

Cloud stared at Sephiroth with tears in his eyes.

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"Open the box and see."

Cloud slowly opened the box not knowing what to expect and gasped in shock before slowly picking up the 20 karat diamond ring with tiny diamonds surrounding the band. He looked at Sephiroth, then back at the ring, before looking back at Sephiroth, who was smiling at him.

"How…?"

"…I made it myself. All that time I was down in the basement, I was cutting the diamond the boys stole from Reeve into this for you. The band is made of about 150 small diamonds give or take, that it-"

Sephiroth was cut off from explaining how he made the ring by Cloud kissing him on the lips with tears running down his face in pure happiness. Not only did Sephiroth get him a bigger diamond ring…he made it himself, which made it all the more special. Sephiroth pulled away and wiped the tears that lingered on his wife's face with a smile before slipping the ring onto his wife's finger.

"Happy Anniversary Cloud…"

"Seph, I love you…"

"I love you too."

"Great, now I feel as though my present to you is _soo_ mediocre…"

"What is it?"

Cloud blushed a dark red and fiddled his fingers.

"Umm…we have to be in the bedroom in order for you to see it… I don't want to take the chance of someone seeing…"

Sephiroth's eyes widened and grinned mischievously.

"Is it a tattoo?"

Cloud shook his head negatively.

"Is it a piercing?"

Cloud looked away from Sephiroth as squeaked when Sephiroth lifted him up into his arms before running into the house with Cloud giggling at his husband's actions.

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_**Meanwhile in the house next door…**_

"Oh my- Francine! Tell Lucrecia that I can hear her son and her daughter-in-law going at it again! My gosh they sure are rude!"

"Louise, how many times must I tell you not to stand on your balcony to smoke during the daytime? You already know that they hump like rabbits during the hours of 2p.m to 5p.m and from 12:30a.m to 3a.m." Lucrecia said as she rolled her eyes at the woman holding a hand up over her heart and gasping when she heard 'Aisu' yell for 'Katou' to go faster and harder and to not touch 'her' there because that is still sore from the piercing.

"How can you sleep at night while hearing Aisu scream like that?"

"Ear plugs usually work…"

"Heh! Screw the earplugs I would ask if I can join in!" a woman said with a snort before grinning.

"Francine!"

"What! Do you hear how loud she moans? Obviously Katou can put in work…"

"I love how a 53 year old woman talks about having a threesome with my son and daughter…" Lucrecia said while laughing.

"Well, that's how I used to roll back in my day…"

"Francine, you were…were…" Louise said as she stared at Francine in shock.

"Bisexual? Fuck yeah I was! And still am today! Quit being so prissy Louise! I can loosen you up if you want me to… Why do you think my ex's preferred to call me Frank?"

Lucrecia busted out laughing as Louise almost passed out on her couch as the other women stared at Francine in shock.

"On a more serious note, why doesn't Ai come to our meetings? I would love to know how she keeps her figure." A younger woman asked excitedly.

"Priscilla, if you stand out on the balcony, you can_ hear_ how she keeps her figure."

"Way to be blunt Lucrecia. I like it…"

"Please don't start coming onto me, Francine… I already told you those days are over for me…"

"Tch. Always a tease."

"You know it!" Lucrecia winked at the woman sitting next to her before sipping her tea.

"But really! I want to meet her! Since I believe her and I are around the same age, it'll be nice to have someone who can relate to me who isn't 50 years plus!" Priscilla said while pouting. Lucrecia sighed. Cloud was going to kill her...

"I'll bring her with me next weekend. She probably won't be doing anything important."

"Great! Now we can learn all of her sex tips!" Francine said excitedly.

"Now why would we need sex tips from someone who's younger than the most of us? Me and my husband are just fine in the bedroom."

"Louise, please. From the look of your husband, you both are in need of _dire_ tune-up…"

Louise blushed a dark shade of red before huffing and walking away.

"Aww, don't leave!" Francine said while laughing as she got up to follow the pissed off older woman.

"This is why I hate coming to these meetings…" Lucrecia mumbled to herself as she placed a hand on her cheek and leaned against the arm of the couch. She couldn't wait to go home, for good and bad reasons. Not only will Cloud start to yell his ear off when she gets home for forcing him to go with her next weekend, Sephiroth will be somewhat upset that he and Cloud's routine of sex in the backyard will be ruined. On the other hand…she gets to ask Cloud what piercing he got. And with that Lucrecia smirked.

**The End?**

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**A/N: Heck no it's not over! In fact, I already started writing the sequel. :) Now for that last tad bit with Lucrecia at her weekly meetings with the ladies of the neighborhood, that is what Cloud will be participating in on his weekends since he has nothing better to do as Lucrecia puts it ;) So, want a little snippet of what's to come in the sequel? Then read below…**

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"_**Who's the brunette? I've never seen her around here before…"**_

"_**The locals say that her name is Aisu. She and her family moved here not too long ago."**_

"_**And who's that walking with her?"**_

"_**That would be her oldest daughter, Yoko, and her youngest daughter, Pita, sir."**_

"_**Her family has money doesn't it?"**_

"_**Judging by the large diamond wedding ring she wears all of the time, I would say yes. The ring alone looks like it would be worth at least 500 million."**_

_**He grinned.**_

"_**I believe I have found three new candidates for my brothel… Keep an eye on them for me and when I give the word, I want you to snag them away with no witnesses…"**_

"_**Yes, sir…but I must warn you of a recent rumor that has been flowing throughout Midgar."**_

"_**What is it?"**_

"_**Some of our spies in Rufus' camp say that Evil Eye is secretly living here in Costa del Sol."**_

"_**Well then, that's even better news to me…"**_

"_**Why is it, sir? Evil Eye is-"**_

"_**The biggest serial killer of all time, I know, I know…but what **_**they **_**don't know is that he's the one who killed my brother in the orphanage to save his little blond slut. If I find him before Rufus does, then I can exact my revenge on him… Update me with any new information on Evil Eye as soon as possible. Understood?"**_

"_**Yes Don Corneo."**_

"_**Good, now leave…"**_

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**A/N: Muhahaha! Turn into the sequel to find out what happens next…**

**Also, I would like to give a special shout out to ALL of you who have reviewed, favorited, alerted, and just plain read the story! YOU GUYS (AND GIRLS) KEPT ME GOING! Hope to see you in the sequel! **

_**-kTk :)**_


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